Yea good point. I'm done. I'll just close by stating that when our society got away from swats at home and in school and other disciplinary actions is when a lot of these unruly children problems started getting out of control. You cannot reason with a an unruly child you have to set boundaries and make them accountable for their deeds. You have to teach them that actions do indeed have consequences.
So none of that is true.
I may have missed something after reading the article but where is there any description of what "the Mother" did to scare the child for life? Exactly, what did she do?
Mostly I would be happy that the police found him. A 5 year old out on the streets by himself in this day and age. There are far worse out comes then being yelled at by the police. Hopefully that will be enough to prevent him from doing it again.
I am not one to make excuses for bad behavior, but I have an understanding of what causes behaviors in children and how to address these behaviors appropriately. As I have said previously, this child is five years old and developmentally they are unable to process the magnitude of many of their behaviors. They will escalate minor things into major incidents by taking drastic actions such as this, and would be considered irrational in their behavioral choices. This is why they have meltdowns, temper tantrums, overreactions etc. So given this situation, the child is clearly acting out in an attempt to gain attention, most likely from some adult figure in an absence of his parents attention. The police officer should not approach an irrational five year old and expect to scare them back into respecting their requests. The officer has engaged in a power struggle with the implied rational thinking that the child will and should respect the officer because of their title. This is a rational approach, but towards an irrational five year old.
This is mostly on point. The school should have not allowed this behavior to escalate to a zero-sum ending, and in the event the child walked away from school, you don't let a five year old go without being there. The officers were undoubtedly frustrated by this situation and the probably the insane level of stress the experience every day, and let their frustration get the best of them here.
I would say based upon the fact the child walked away from the school, at five years old, and his response to returning to school, there is likely a laundry list of other issues that have occurred. If you employ the teachings of behavioral theory, children at this age are a reflection of their environment more than their own ideology. Children acting in this manner are generally looking for a reaction or attention for one reason or another, and while this child may be the exception to the rule, I am going to stick with the odds here. That being said, because the child does not appear to be low functioning, or significantly handicapped, it is plausible to assume that his developmental skills are on par with his age, and this behavior is consistent with those who have experienced neglect, trauma or unsupportive home lives.
Why is the Mom the main culprit? Is there no Dad? If there is no Dad, maybe that has something to do with the child’s behavior and it’s not the mother is a villain and doing the best she can. Where are you guys getting that the Mother is a villain? Is there more information available beyond the posted article?
I assumed that she was the sole custodial parent as the article mentioned she filed a lawsuit with no mention to dad. I also clearly explained why it is reasonable to assume that there is an unfavorable living situation at home based upon the child's behavior. You're probably correct to assume as well that there is an issue if dad is not in the picture and that may explain some of the additional issues at home etc. I am using my experience in working with children and schools to make an educated guess based upon the circumstances presented in the article. The mom (and maybe dad) is probably doing the best that she can, but that does not equate good parenting. Thus the reason I suggested that she get support in terms of parenting.
It was difficult to read any further after this quote, Dr. Spock. Young children understand a lot more than people give them credit and they are constantly testing the boundaries. Discipline and love go hand in hand when raising a well adjusted child. If what you're saying is that it's really the parents' fault I can agree with that but that still doesn't mean an authority figure should cower towards these types of behavior. That's all part of the issue that even in school environments the children know how to push buttons and play the game while pushing the limits.
Not sure the need for nicknames, but I was always a bigger Star Wars fan than Star Trek. Regardless, no one has said they need to cower towards a behavior in any way, but I would ask what is the intended outcome that the officers wanted to achieve? If their intent was to return the kid to the school, they executed that plan poorly. If their intent was to scare the child straight, they are clearly ignorant to the fact that methodology has no impact on children, especially at this age. It seems to me that they lost this power struggle because they escalated the situation rather than de-escalating the child and then enforcing whatever punishment is appropriate.
Your attempt at deep psychological anlysis kind of lost any credibility if you thought I was referenceing Star Trek ?
I'm just trying to understand from the article posted where people get that the mother is "likely the main culprit" or "the villain". Certainly, a 5 year old's behavior can be impacted by his home situation and influences associated with that. Five year olds also have temper tantrums for unexplainable reasons. It just seems that there is a very quick judgement without much information that the mother is the main culprit and a villain.
I guess I didn't think what I was saying was deep psychological analysis, but guess you got me. I had never read his material and from the link you provided, am glad that I did not when I was a new parent. I would be at odds with a large number of his ideas.
I'm not sure what you mean by the bolded comment. But I agree with the rest. Unfortunately there are gong to be circumstances where there are one parent families. And they can be just as good as a mom & dad and on the flip side not all nuclear families are strong and productive but in general they tend to be more solid balanced upbringing.