Posted on 04/16/2016 8:39:33 AM PDT by TaxPayer2000
A startling video shows a 5-year-old boy getting paddled by his school principal in front of his mom.
Shana Marie Perez, who recorded the footage of her son's punishment, says she's had a long-running dispute with the school principal in Georgia. Her son has had 18 unexcused absences this school year and she was once arrested for his truancy.
She says the school threatened to call the police and have her arrested again if she did not give them permission to paddle Thomas.
She told IE: "I felt like I had no other option. The principal led me to believe that the paddle was the only option."
Perez said her son was "devastated about the whole situation."
"Every time I try to walk up to him he says 'don't hit me, don't hit me,'" she added.
The local sheriff says the school did nothing wrong because paddling is legal in Georgia as long as the parent gives their consent.
The disturbing video is re-igniting an old debate: is paddling really an effective way to punish a child this young?
Read: Teacher Arrested After Video Allegedly Caught Her Slapping Student in Class
Psychiatrist Dr. Gail Saltz told IE: "There is really no data to say that corporal punishment effects positive change."
She added: "When you take a kid that is already being oppositional and defiant, now you have taught him that another method of coping is to hit. Chances are you are going to get a child that is going to hit."
The school district says they are investigating the incident and their discipline policies
Exactly, if she cares enough about going public about all this like she did, she should have never let it happen in the fist place. I mean come on, it’s not that hard. If she is this dumb, the kid is more doomed than he at least seems to be anyhow. Prayers for all involved.
Freegards
It’s not wrong at all. They should have paddled him and been done with it and taught him a lesson instead of withy washing around.
And I now have a list of people whose ill mannered brats I’d cross the street to keep from being close to.
Universally, an ill behaved child is the scorn of the world.
A principal smacking a distraught five year old child with a wooden paddle is not what keeps him from being an ill mannered brat. Loving discipline and guidance (which may or may not include spanking) by a parent who cares deeply about the way he should go and sets good examples for him to follow does.
Sometimes punishment is necessary. Children do need to know what is unacceptable. Corporal punishment of a five year old is not appropriate. A spanking by mom or dad is an entirely different matter.
I agree. If the boy truly did need to see a physician as many times as the mom said I can only imagine the stress that put him under. The school needs to request he be evaluated by a physician and a mental health professional to see if he should even be in school. If they decide he should be in school the mom and school need to come up with an agreed upon plan to map his progress overall.
Prayers never hurt.
I got my share of paddling back in the day, spending most of my school time as the class clown.
I had an interesting occurrence though one time: I had a small New Testament in my back pocket from Bible Camp, and the History teacher at school lined me and another student (a girl) up against the blackboard for paddling in front of the class. He hit me on the butt and the paddle broke in two! He asked what was in my pocket. When I pulled out the Bible, you should have seen his eyes!
It may be your opinion that one swat on the behind of a terroristic 5 year old isn’t needed, but your wrong.
Wow. Terroristic?
Got my butt tore up in the 70’s and early eighties...didn’t deserve one but i did the rest....seen girls get smacked on the bottom too...not very har though....though their life was coming to an end though. LOL
Heh.
Typo magic. ;)
No kidding, that made me laugh out loud! Then I felt bad for laughing.
I would think she would be more worried about the absences.
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