Time for a Time Out?
Is it okay to handcuff a 6-year-old kindergarten student as reportedly happened yesterday in Georgia following a temper tantrum?
I don’t have the facts needed to pass judgment on this particular case, but handcuffing 6-year-olds is not standard procedure. Can I imagine a scenario where this might be appropriate? It’s hard to envision, but I’d hate to say, never. I checked with our three Student Resource Officers and none could remember ever handcuffing a kid younger than 10.
On the other hand, what do you do with a kid that’s completely out of control attacking anyone within reach - ask him to sit on a chair for a time out?
Let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
Why were the police called in the first place? An out-of-control 6-year-old… is this really a police matter? What happened to the days when the school teacher drug the kid to the principal’s office or turned them over to the parents?
Schools now generally have a no-touch policy, meaning that if a kid goes bonkers, they evacuate the room and call us. Gone are the days when junior gets it worse when Mom & Dad finds out.
But there are those rare cases that the kid is truly out of control with deep seated emotional problems that go beyond just bad behavior. We go hands on, more often than not, to protect kids from hurting themselves. Keep in mind that young children don’t get charged with crimes and they certainly don’t go to jail. Rather we work with the parents or mental health professionals with an eye towards what’s in the best interest of the child.