5-Year-Old Handcuffed As Mom Watches

[rockin'robin]

Woman Says She Wanted To Scare Child Straight

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. -- A startling scene outside a party store brought a Florida woman to tears.

The woman said she saw a sheriff's deputy arresting a 5-year-old boy as she was pumping gas at a nearby 7-Eleven. She snapped a photo and described it as an "out of control situation."

"That's not a way to treat a child, that's not a way to teach a lesson to a little boy," said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous.

The little boy's mother said she asked the deputy, a friend and 15-year veteran of the Lee County Sheriff's Office, to "arrest" her son as a way to scare him straight.

"I hope it scared him to figure out that he's not going to play with matches or lighters again," she said. "That was the whole point of it -- to make him afraid that he was going to go to jail."

Child psychiatrist Omar Rieche said the discipline was too much.

"No matter what the details are, when you see that picture, it says so much," he said. "The age in which this is being done is inappropriate, so it's misguided."

But the boy's mother said she'd do it again if she had to.

"If more parents did what I did, we wouldn't have the crime we have now," she said.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office said the deputy's actions were not protocol and will not happen again.

5-Year-Old Handcuffed As Mom Watches - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville

 

[rockdrummer]

A 5 year old?? Really?? What an idiot of a parent. And the friend that is a cop should be repremanded as well. What about taking care of real crimes instead of wasting time scaring a 5 year old as a favor to a friend.

 

[yizuman]

Not a way to discipline a child. Parents needs to learn to be responsible for their child. If they can't do it and needs someone else to discipline their child, they either lack parenting skills or has no business being a parent in the first place.

Now if a parent did everything right and by the time he/she becomes a teenager and starts being out of control, then I'm for the idea of putting them on the "scared straight" program that prisons has that inmates volunteer for to help teach kids that being bad ain't cool and being in prison isn't cool either. They tell them like it is when being behind bars.

Yiz

 

[rockin'robin]

Was so sad when I read this...that poor 5 yr. old.....probably have nightmares for quite a while over this!...I'm really disgusted at the "mother" who thinks this is "just fine and dandy" to do this to a kid!....

 

[CJB]

Way to traumatize your child, Mom. Maybe time for some classes in Parenting 101. :roll:

And the deputy who agreed to the mock-arrest? What was he thinking?

 

[Miss-Delectable]

"I hope it scared him to figure out that he's not going to play with matches or lighters again," she said. "That was the whole point of it -- to make him afraid that he was going to go to jail."

That won't be a deterrance, I think. This mother took the lazy way out.

She should have taken him to a psychologist who is experienced in dealing with children who are fascinated with fire. Also take him to the Firehouse and have the firies talk to him about how dangerous and what damage it does etc.

I recall my area having that sort of program for children who are pyros and it helped them get over the obession.

 

[rockdrummer]

That won't be a deterrance, I think. This mother took the lazy way out.

She should have taken him to a psychologist who is experienced in dealing with children who are fascinated with fire. Also take him to the Firehouse and have the firies talk to him about how dangerous and what damage it does etc.

I recall my area having that sort of program for children who are pyros and it helped them get over the obession.

Yes that would have been more appropriate. Teach the child about the dangers of fire. Going to a firehouse is an excellent idea. Have the kid watch some videos and stuff of peoples houses and belongings getting burned and the devistation it causes.

 

[Reba]

Oh, great, now the kid will fear the police. In time of danger, will he feel comfortable in approaching an officer for help? This is totally wrong making the police the disciplinarians for the family. What's the mom going to do? Call the police every time her kid misbehaves?

Mom needs to find out the reason why the kid was playing with fire. Was it a simple curiosity, or is it a symptom of some other deeper problem (such as sexual abuse)? Was it a one-time experiment or is it a series of events?

Too many unanswered questions.

 

[Brian]

I think they went a bit too far with the handcuffing part. But, again, I wasn't there to witness it.

 

[Brian]

My father had two of his childhood friends on the police force to come over to talk with me about flipping birds. I was flipping birds everywhere, my parents tried everything to stop me, it didn't do anything good. The two police officers came over to talk to me about it. They said they would take me to jail, if I didn't stop doing this. They even showed me their handcuffs, and what they were for. I stopped flipping birds, because I didn't want be in jail. I was only 4-5 years old at the time.

I am thankful that my parents had thought of this. I wished I had thought to thank both of the officers personally, before I moved out of state. They are deceased.

I have several friends that are police officers.

 

[Tousi]

Just to try to soften this wrongful handling of a 5 yr old, the lady police officer in the picture looks as if she was gentle with the lil boy.

 

[Jason]

As a father of my four kids, I agree with the mother to discipline the kid but the cuffing situation is one thing I have to disagree on. The mother probably had trouble telling her boy to quit. It is good to have a friend in uniform to talk to the kid because the kid knows what those cop/sheriff's job is.

According to one of the posts, that sheriff is a female. She probably on her break or did this before/after her shift.

Taking them to firehouse is kinda bad idea because you dont know the kid completely just yet. A boy of a friend of mine love going to firehouse when he was young... later when he was in a relationship, girl broke up with him while he had stress with school and family... guess what he did? take a guess. He became an arsonist even he was on fireman duty for 3 years. So he had to serve 5 yrs in jail at age of 21.

 

[rockin'robin]

I have to ask: what was the little boy doing around matches, lighters, etc.??...Handcuffing a 5 year old is outrageous!....I remmy very well when my neighbors boy got ahold of some matches and tried to start a fire in the back of his house. His hair was all singed (burnt).....I told the mother about it, and cautioned her to keep matches, lighters, etc., out of reach of the boy! And get the child some counseling.

No child this age should be allowed to play with matches/lighters....they should be made aware of the pain if they get burnt....such as a stove when it's hot, etc. Even hot water.....some parents try to take the easy way out, but the way this lady did to her son, she should have been locked up and the boy taken out of her home!...Such a lazy and mean parent she is....

I do not even allow my 13 and 15 yr. old to handle lighters, not even touch them.

 

[~*Kaelei*~]

Omg, that's just horriable! I would NEVER do that to my son, Never! What she did was just outrageous!!! Its just not right!

 

[Smithtr]

A 5 year old?? Really?? What an idiot of a parent. And the friend that is a cop should be repremanded as well. What about taking care of real crimes instead of wasting time scaring a 5 year old as a favor to a friend.

wow serious. omg I am surprised. that is bad behavior teenager. parents fault responsiblity because reason how you feeling responsiblity control teach rule of follow maybe he doesn't listen follow mom and dad. do you think listen to him wow. I am surprised.

 

[nyyankees154]

OK, I know I am going to get shot up for this, but I am proud of that mother. There needs to be more parents that understand how to raise kids. The mother knows it takes more then herself to do that, and asked her friend to help out. Does anyone remember a saying: It takes a community to raise a child? A lot of people are forgetting that raising a kid is more then just parents, it their teachers, friends, parents, family member, people that live down the street. It is not just the mother at fault. It the whole community at fault. Since that child is 5, I think I can guess right that he is in Kindergarten can the school system don't force the issue enough. The child is 5, so I also guess he has friends close to where he lives and their parents don't teach their child that heavy about it. Then, he probably has family members round his age with the same thing. Also guessing when he visits family, the parents step back and let the kids run around crazy, not watching them that closely.

I know my mother did stuff like that, and my friends parents would back her for that, if not throw their kids in the backseat with me.

We are getting to the point that too many parents are to worried if they say something wrong or do something wrong, and they going to jail. It should not be like that. It should be more support on the parent, to a point. A spanking in public, or anything on that line should be more of a sign of a good mother, then a poor kid thing. Also, on the other hand, knocking a kids head off, or going off on a 30 min cussing on the kid is too much.

All in all, I am proud of that mother, and other people should be more open in punishing their kids in public. I know in Germany, if someone sees a kid throwing a fit over something, they expect the parent to punish the kid. In the states, it almost the other way around. Our kids are way to spoiled.

 

[KristinaB]

That was just too harsh. I know my parents had real problems with both my brothers when they were little, and asked the officers how to handle it. When the boys were 5 & 7, they got a tour of the juvenile jail and were shown just what would happen if they were ever caught.

Can't say it ever did what it was supposed to do, but they never were arrested until they were past 17 except when they burned down the pasture when they were 7 & 9.

As far as my kids, since I home school, I found a real neat lesson plan online that they did. It was provided by the FBI and State Farm. My kids did that lesson, interviewed a city police officer, a county Sheriff's officer, a Missouri State Patrol officer and an FBI agent, then they got a tour of the county jail. They were 7 & 8 and I have to say, that has made a lasting impression. They are now 15 & 16 and still talk about it and look at their notebooks from that lesson quite often.

 

[Oddball]

That was just too harsh. I know my parents had real problems with both my brothers when they were little, and asked the officers how to handle it. When the boys were 5 & 7, they got a tour of the juvenile jail and were shown just what would happen if they were ever caught.

My mean teacher took us on a tour to a local county jail. Of course, I was a troublemaker at elementary school because I simply was not happy. Anyway, she threatened me if I ever get into trouble, then I will get handcuffed by a cop. I was on back of my mind, "Oh, please..why tell me this?" I gave her my concerned look as she spat a word of handcuffs at my face. Many years later, guess what? I have not gotten to jail since I graduate from both treacheous elementary school and high school. Karma is biting her ass... Of course, I dislike her ever since she was my teacher in 1980.

Knock on the wood.

 

[sara1981]

mostly parents know best not let kids pump gas till older its laws