Merry @#$!% Christmas

[derekkj 0]

Kid arrested for playing with Christmas present

POSTED: 9:45 a.m. EST, December 6, 2006

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) -- A fed-up mother had her 12-year-old son arrested for allegedly rummaging through his great-grandmother's things and playing with his Christmas present early.

The mother called police Sunday after learning her son had disobeyed orders and repeatedly taken a Game Boy from its hiding place at his great-grandmother's house next door and played it.

He was arrested on petty larceny charges, taken to the police station in handcuffs and held until his mother picked him up after church.

"My grandmother went out of her way to lay away a toy and paid on this thing for months," said the boy's mother, Brandi Ervin. "It was only to teach my son a lesson. He's been going through life doing things ... and getting away with it."

Police did not release the boy's name.

The mother said that her son was found in the last year to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but that his medicine does not seem to help.

She said he faces an expulsion hearing at his school Wednesday. Rock Hill Police Capt. Mark Bollinger said the boy took a swing at a police officer assigned to the school last month. He has been suspended from school since then.

The boy's case will be presented to Department of Juvenile Justice officials in York County, who will decide what happens to him, Bollinger said. His mother hopes he can attend a program that will finally scare him straight.

"It's not even about the Christmas present," she said. "I only want positive things out of it. ... There's no need for him to act this way. I'd rather call myself than someone else call for him doing something worse than this."

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press </interactive_legal.html>. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/05/christmas...t.ap/index.html

[Tim and Bethanie 1]

Oh that gives me a good idea! I say good on her, this might teach him a lesson.

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

wow. might as well hang him by the 'nads!

Daniel

:energetic:

[almaty 19]

wow. might as well hang him by the 'nads!

Daniel

:energetic:

heard he was

[Nizzy 1]

Seems like this mom is placing all the blame on her kid. He didn't just turn into this out of control child by himself. They need to look at several aspects of his life to see what the real problem is instead of just labeling him with ADHD and trying to cure him with meds. I don't have all the experience in the world but I have worked with children with "behavioral disorders" who are placed on medication when they don't need to be. When you look at their past and their family life and the fact that they have individual needs that need to be addressed but are instead clumped together into one category then you can see where the problem is.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Seems like this mom is placing all the blame on her kid. He didn't just turn into this out of control child by himself. They need to look at several aspects of his life to see what the real problem is instead of just labeling him with ADHD and trying to cure him with meds. I don't have all the experience in the world but I have worked with children with "behavioral disorders" who are placed on medication when they don't need to be. When you look at their past and their family life and the fact that they have individual needs that need to be addressed but are instead clumped together into one category then you can see where the problem is.

I agree. The kid has issues and he wasn't hatched from an egg.

[arwensun1965 0]

Seems like this mom is placing all the blame on her kid. He didn't just turn into this out of control child by himself. They need to look at several aspects of his life to see what the real problem is instead of just labeling him with ADHD and trying to cure him with meds. I don't have all the experience in the world but I have worked with children with "behavioral disorders" who are placed on medication when they don't need to be. When you look at their past and their family life and the fact that they have individual needs that need to be addressed but are instead clumped together into one category then you can see where the problem is.

As per usual the mother gets the blame ..oh wait a minute the family life is shite too, the child has a problem so the doctor put him on tablets for nothing...give me a bloody break, if you had one of these children for just 24 hours and I mean the whole 24 hours and not just part of it then maybe your attitude will change. I have known children with ADHD, ODD and other special needs and it is not easy for the parents, even with parents who have "normal" lives.

[Tim and Bethanie 1]

Seems like this mom is placing all the blame on her kid. He didn't just turn into this out of control child by himself. They need to look at several aspects of his life to see what the real problem is instead of just labeling him with ADHD and trying to cure him with meds. I don't have all the experience in the world but I have worked with children with "behavioral disorders" who are placed on medication when they don't need to be. When you look at their past and their family life and the fact that they have individual needs that need to be addressed but are instead clumped together into one category then you can see where the problem is.

As per usual the mother gets the blame ..oh wait a minute the family life is shite too, the child has a problem so the doctor put him on tablets for nothing...give me a bloody break, if you had one of these children for just 24 hours and I mean the whole 24 hours and not just part of it then maybe your attitude will change. I have known children with ADHD, ODD and other special needs and it is not easy for the parents, even with parents who have "normal" lives.

I agree. Somehow doubt mom just out of the blue called the police on her kid without having tried other things. This is the friggin problem with kids today, they aren't held responsible for their actions and everything is blamed on their parents or school. If they are told not to do something that is just what it means. He obviusly chose not to listen to his mother and she did what she felt she needed to do.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Seems like this mom is placing all the blame on her kid. He didn't just turn into this out of control child by himself. They need to look at several aspects of his life to see what the real problem is instead of just labeling him with ADHD and trying to cure him with meds. I don't have all the experience in the world but I have worked with children with "behavioral disorders" who are placed on medication when they don't need to be. When you look at their past and their family life and the fact that they have individual needs that need to be addressed but are instead clumped together into one category then you can see where the problem is.

As per usual the mother gets the blame ..oh wait a minute the family life is shite too, the child has a problem so the doctor put him on tablets for nothing...give me a bloody break, if you had one of these children for just 24 hours and I mean the whole 24 hours and not just part of it then maybe your attitude will change. I have known children with ADHD, ODD and other special needs and it is not easy for the parents, even with parents who have "normal" lives.

It's not about pointing fingers, but looking at the causes. A child's behavior is often an indication that things aren't quite right at home. Parents are responsible for their children's well being.

[Nizzy 1]

I agree with you as well Arwensun. I'm not saying the kid doesn't have issues but I hate when people jump to comclusions when it comes to out of control kids. I do agree that there are cases where the kid is REALLY bad regardless of upbringing. But not all kids are like that.

Edited December 6, 2006 by Nizzy

[arwensun1965 0]

Parents are responsible for their children's well being.

Yes they are but here is where it gets sticky, even when the parents are doing all they can to keep the child on track a child with special needs is completely different to a "normal" child. Every child is different, a friend of mine has a son his name is Danial, he is loving and happy but he has ADHD, upset him and all hell breaks loose, the friend is a loving mother she watches what he eats as artifical flavours and E's in the food can cause Danial to go into a mood that is to say the least difficult. Danial goes to a normal high school and has been in a few situations that his mother has had to deal with. Daniel is getting good grades and is now settling into the system.

Second case is Kieren, he is also ADHD and let me tell you he is a monster when angry, he is rude and generally naughty. He attends an ADHD clinic and yes he is on tablets which he takes 3 times aday. If you were to say to Kieren to not do something he would do it anyway (Daniel would not). Kieren is younger than Daniel but with similar backgrounds.

Third case. Lindsey is now 22 years old and lives with her partner in Wales. Lindsey was diagnosed with ODD at 14 years old, I know that my sister her mother had a very difficult time, Lindsey would call the police on my sister and my sister had done nothing wrong, Lindsey would not do anything to help my sister, she would not tidy her room (and I saw what a mess it was) and she would not help herself either, personal hygene was to say the least poor no matter what my sister tried to do to help.

All three cases are different but the children react in the same way, all three had or are having a different approch to parenting, so please if you have not got any experience with children like the three above or the one that the OP mentioned then I do not think it is good to offer an opinion on something you will never (well lets hope you never) have to go through.

[Heracles 417]

This kid seems to suffer from LOW (Lack of Whipping)

[jezebelseven 0]

The smoking gun has more details and police reports on the case:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1205062xmas1.html

Which, in my opinion, give me the feeling that although I can understand why the mother thought this was a good idea, I have to wonder if this is really the best way. I know that even police reports can't give us the whole story, but it does show that she was 15 when she had this child, which is rarely going to turn out as well as it should. It also, however, shows the boy has serious aggression problems as he has taken a swing at a officer before. So while I agree this boy needs help...

I personally would think the better idea would be for the punishment to be directly involved with the crime-- Tell him that since he got into his present before he was allowed, that present is no longer his and is going to be given to charity/taken back to the store/etc. Then again, that may have been the plan but she called the cops in advance expecting to squash another assault before it could happen.

That being said, I have to kind of feel bad for the kid, whether he has ADHD or whatever else may be involved here-- Who here, as kids, didn't sneak around trying to find where mommy and daddy hid your presents? Heck, even my fiance has admitted to opening a gift (so that he could piece it back together without his mom knowing) and playing with it before he was allowed. There's an LL Bean commercial that shows the same thing, and it makes me smile because a child's impatience can be cute at times.

I dunno. I do think it was a bit over the top to call the cops in this case, but at least the mom did something. I just hope the boy gets some help wherever he gets shipped off to, rather than being thrown in kiddy jail and only learning to become bitter that he's in jail over opening something meant for him early.

[arwensun1965 0]

This kid seems to suffer from LOW (Lack of Whipping)

This is not even funny.

[Jenn! 918]

What a waste of the police's time!