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5-Year-Old Arrested For Candy Outburst At School
ClickonDetroit ^ | March 18, 2005

Posted on 03/19/2005 7:40:47 AM PST by ShadowDancer

5-Year-Old Arrested For Candy Outburst At School

POSTED: 12:52 pm EST March 18, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Florida school officials are apologizing for the arrest of a 5-year-old, whose tantrum landed her in the back of a police cruiser.

Officials said the girl threw books and boxes, kicked a teacher in the shins, smashed a candy dish, hit an assistant principal in the stomach and drew on the walls. She was upset when a teacher took away jelly beans she was counting in a math exercise at Fairmount Park Elementary School.

Minutes later, she was under arrest for battery. The 40-pound girl's hands were bound with plasic ties and her ankles in handcuffs.

A school superintendent said campus police should have been called. He said school officials "never want to have 5-year-old children arrested."

No charges were filed and the girl went home with her mother, who said her daughter will not return. In her words, "They set my baby up."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: banglist; discipline; donutwatch; govwatch; students; zerotolerance
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To: lotusblos
"If the parent(s) haven't taught the child to act appropriately by the time they're five, they should hold them back from school."

If the parents haven't talught the child to behave better than this by they age of 5, what makes you think that they will have her behaving any better by the age of 6. I'm betting she would be worse because she'd have another year to practice.

61 posted on 03/19/2005 9:53:41 AM PST by sweetliberty ("To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.")
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To: MaryFromMichigan

I certainly agree. The teacher screwed up, the school authorities screwed up and a five year old screwed up, yet since it was a government school, who get arrested?

But then the "they set up my baby" mentality just reveals the poor kid basically has no chance in life. You can survive a bad kindergarten teacher or a bad assistant principal much easier than a parent with no clue.


62 posted on 03/19/2005 9:54:56 AM PST by JLS
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
"The way things are teachers can not lay a hand on the little angels with out fearing a lawsuit."

Neither can social workers or foster parents. Which means that even if you get the little hellions out of the home, which of course there would have to be some legitimate reason to do, they are pretty much guaranteed of never having any serious consequences for their behavior.

63 posted on 03/19/2005 9:57:57 AM PST by sweetliberty ("To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.")
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To: lepton
"It sounds as though possession of the Jellybeans was sanctioned, but that somewhere along the way the rules changed."

SOMEBODY SET ME UP THE JELLYBEAN!

Teacher: "Okay, children, today we will learn a lesson in self-control. You will find your inkwells are filled with jellybeans. I want you to take them out, one by one, and line them up on your desk in the proper color sequence, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Remember, you are forbidden to put one in your mouth."

Little Sally muses what the word, 'forbidden' means as she chomps down on the orange one. She is immediately thrown against the wall, body searched, cuffed, roped and tied pending the arrival of a medic with a stomach pump to retrieve the evidence.

As she was being dragged out the door by the cops, she was heard saying, "But you knew I was a five-year-old when you put the candy in front of me!"

64 posted on 03/19/2005 9:58:51 AM PST by Eastbound
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To: JLS
The "they set up my baby" complaint is not entirely incorrect.

Giving candy to a five year old and then taking it away did instigate the child's reaction.
I doubt the teacher had a calm approach to a child in the midst of loosing control.
Some folks here seem to think that an occasional temper tantrum is something beyond the norm in a five year old child.
It isn't.
65 posted on 03/19/2005 10:05:47 AM PST by MaryFromMichigan (We childproofed our home, but they are still getting in)
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To: sweetliberty
Yep. It is easy to condemn the teachers for over reacting but in the end what choice are we leaving them?

They can either do nothing, plead with the child or call the cops. There is no middle ground anymore.

66 posted on 03/19/2005 10:06:47 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear ( We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing!? Oh right, that would be me. Back to work.)
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To: lepton
"One could think up quite a few scenerios where the girl might have been responding in a relatively normal - albeit assertive - way"

You have got to be kidding! No way is that kind of behavior appropriate in any setting or for any reason, unless the child was literally defending her life. She could have seriously hurt someone. No, I do NOT believe that police should be involved in dealing with school children, but I do believe that she should have had her little @$$ wore out. Kids who get away with this kind of behavior and then blame others for THEIR problems are nothing more than criminals in training and their parents and teachers are their coaches.

67 posted on 03/19/2005 10:09:00 AM PST by sweetliberty ("To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.")
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To: ShadowDancer

Arresting her was an extreme reaction, but if my innocent 5 year old had to sit in a class and witness this type of out of control, over the top behavior from another kid....I might feel different.
My concern is with the other 19 kids who were doing what they were supposed to be doing. Why should they be subject to this?
Another reason to homeschool if you asked me.


68 posted on 03/19/2005 10:15:07 AM PST by VintagePixie
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To: Happygal

Arresting the child was ridiculous.

However, a quick spank on the bottom might have solved the 'tantrum' issue.

======

Hurry officer... arrest this out of control FReeper... she has unabashedly uttered th "s" word... indicating it should be applied to the "b" word of a sweet little five-year-old girl !!! Hurry, officer... before this blatant criminal signs off !!!



69 posted on 03/19/2005 10:24:09 AM PST by GeekDejure ( LOL = Liberals Obey Lucifer !!!)
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To: MaryFromMichigan
"She also needs to learn how to handle temper tantrums."

And how would you suggest she do that? In most PUBLIC schools, teachers are not allowed to spank, restrain, isolate or confine. They have zero leverage. What are they going to do? Give an out of control, screaming brat a cute little "time out"?

I agree with you on the first part of your statement, though.

70 posted on 03/19/2005 10:41:24 AM PST by sweetliberty ("To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.")
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To: MaryFromMichigan
Giving candy to a five year old and then taking it away did instigate the child's reaction.

Do you know WHAT the child was doing with the jelly beans? No, I don't either. MOST teachers would not be upset by a kindergartener eating candy they are supposed to be counting. Perhaps the girl was throwing them across room. Would it be acceptable for the teacher to remove the candy then?

71 posted on 03/19/2005 10:51:09 AM PST by Dianna
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
"Officials said (Hillary) threw books and boxes, kicked a (staffer) in the shins, smashed a candy dish (over her husbands head), hit an (intern) in the stomach and (punched in) the walls...."

.

.

Scary thing is, I could see that.

72 posted on 03/19/2005 10:58:17 AM PST by sweetliberty ("To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.")
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To: Dianna
Well, according to this article the little girl began acting "silly".
I'm amazed at the strong reactions against this child.
73 posted on 03/19/2005 11:08:51 AM PST by MaryFromMichigan (We childproofed our home, but they are still getting in)
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To: Dallas59
Excessive behavior needs excessive punishment. Maybe she'll remember what happens to bad kids next time they assault teachers.

Adults are supposed to be smarter than 5 year olds. There are many way to correct this child's behavior - and deal with it - without calling in the police. Calling the police is so far down on the list it does not even make the list.

74 posted on 03/19/2005 11:36:47 AM PST by BJungNan (One of these days I will actually read the article before posting!)
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To: LibertyThug
No, arresting the child was NOT rediculous.

Yes, arresting the child WAS rediculous. We have street thugs and gang bangers shooting people and you think calling in the police to arrest a 5-year-old that acts up in class is not rediculous?!

I'll take it that you are advocating strict punishment and not really a total waste of law enforcement resources.

75 posted on 03/19/2005 11:41:26 AM PST by BJungNan (One of these days I will actually read the article before posting!)
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To: ShadowDancer

I again promote the book: "The Epidemic. The Rot of American Culture, Absentee and Permissive Parenting, and the Resultant Plague of Joyless, Selfish Children" by Robert Shaw.


76 posted on 03/19/2005 11:45:26 AM PST by diamond6 (Everyone who is for abortion has already been born. Ronald Reagan)
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To: MaryFromMichigan

She began acting silly which is why the jelly beans were removed. That does not excuse the kind of behavior that followed in a five year old. By both accounts from both papers she was totally out of control.


77 posted on 03/19/2005 1:08:01 PM PST by ShadowDancer (As for the types of comments I make,sometimes I just, By God,get carried away with my own eloquence.)
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To: ShadowDancer
That does not excuse the kind of behavior that followed in a five year old. By both accounts from both papers she was totally out of control.

So the adults had no option other than have the 5 year old, 40 pound girl arrested.
I see it so clearly now.
Of course 5 years olds should be arrested for tantrums.
78 posted on 03/19/2005 1:25:07 PM PST by MaryFromMichigan (We childproofed our home, but they are still getting in)
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To: MaryFromMichigan

Of course I don't think she should have been arrested but I do know that with how litigous our society is now that no teacher in their right mind would on their own dare to restrain a child that out of control. If you don't think her momma would have exercised her judical rights if she had, just read what she said about her 'baby'.


79 posted on 03/19/2005 1:28:01 PM PST by ShadowDancer (As for the types of comments I make,sometimes I just, By God,get carried away with my own eloquence.)
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To: MaryFromMichigan
So the adults had no option other than have the 5 year old, 40 pound girl arrested.

Sadly, yes. They faced litigation and maybe criminal charges if they did anythng else.

Standard Gen X rules.

80 posted on 03/19/2005 1:53:06 PM PST by freedumb2003 (First you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women (HJ Simpson))
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