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Kid Arrested For Playing With Christmas Present

KID ARRESTED FOR PLAYING WITH CHRISTMAS PRESENT

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

Present Christmas Playing Arrested Kid

It may seem funny for some people, but I find this story to be heartbreaking. We are talking about a 12 years old boy who has ADHD, the medication is not working and probably suffering of other ailments...was the solution to call the police on him, getting handcuffed, arrested and thrown on a prison cell? I am not justfying his behavior but I think we are missing parts on this story. We do not hear about a father and we are reading the statements of a frustrated mother.

This kid needs professional help not something "to scared him off" or "set him straight" as the mother puts it.

Now a judge will decide the fate of this kid, sad.

Kid Arrested For Playing With Christmas Present Christmas

Well, and she's hoping to scare him by his dealings with the local Dept. of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), and that just isn't going to happen. He won't be taken to a residential facility for ADD. It's just not going to happen. He'll go through an intake process, if he hasn't already, with a juvenile probation officer (JPO), and then be assigned an official JPO that will follow his case. This is, of course, if the case is not closed. Because he is a juvenile, the JPO will give a recommendation for restitution, the state attorney's office will approve, and then the judge will rule in favor of or against the recommendations. The kid will most likely end up having to complete a certain number of community service hours, and report to his JPO for so many months, and then the case will be closed.

The juvenile justice system most likely will not deal with his ADD, because that is not what they are trained to do. They will acknowledge it, they might make a referrel to go see a doctor about getting a different prescription.

Overall, her calling the cops was useless and will serve no purpose other than to get her son's name in the court system.

Edited: BabyBlues on 7th Dec, 2006 - 5:39pm

Present Christmas Playing Arrested Kid

While I see the logic in letting natural consequences take their course in an attempt to teach kids responsibility (such as getting arrested for stealing), the fact that the reason was for opening a Christmas present early seems a little crazy. Also, motivation by fear does not seem like a good tactic to me, though I guess it was a last resort. It does seem as though we are missing some details though.

As far as the ADHD goes, I am of the opinion that it is overused as an excuse for kids to do poorly, rather than a reason for them to actually work harder.

Present Christmas Playing Arrested Kid

My opinion is that the mother knew very well nothing would come of the charge and arrest. She did it because she didn't know what else to do. It seems a small and silly thing to get so worked up about, but maybe it was a last straw and she was waiting for one more infraction to justify her calling the cops on her son. Obviously, she needs help controlling him. I would have returned the game for a refund. I'll bet that would have killed him.