Preschoolers handcuffed for refusing to nap
Sometimes I get ticked off and want to write A Letter to someone. In this case, if this was one of my kids, it would be more like delivering a smackdown.
In New York, a school-safety officer handcuffed two four year old boys in a Bronx preschool because they wouldn’t take a nap.
When they refused to nap, the substitute teacher removed the two boys from the class and left them alone in an empty classroom. Then the safety officer allegedly came in and handcuffed them, and also threatened them:
Soon, the lawyer said, the school-safety officer entered the room, cuffed the boys’ wrists - and further terrified them by telling they that they would never see their parents again.
“I wasn’t shot, but my hands were tied,” Christopher, now 5, recalled, according to his mother, Vasso Brito, a 34- year-old office worker - who says the little guy is now scared of police officers.
I will admit to being a bit of a crier but honestly, I broke down in tears at the thought of someone in a position of authority abusing their power to the point of threatening my daughters that they would never see me or my husband again. Can you imagine how those two kids must have felt? And handcuffed?! Were these boys armed with machine guns?
The article states that the parents are suing. Whatever it is that they’re asking for, I hope they get every last penny. They’re going to need it for therapy for these poor kids.
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POSTED IN: Mothering
1 opinion for Preschoolers handcuffed for refusing to nap
MomOnTheGo
Mar 13, 2008 at 6:19 am
Wow, it’s hard to know where to begin with this story. I can see removing the kids from the room if they were disturbing other kids who were napping but leaving preschoolers in an empty classroom is inappropriate. Fears of abandonment, not to mention simple danger, must be considered. The handcuffing is over the top. Police officers (and those that dress like them) need to be seen as a symbol of safety and not threat. I hope the parents get a good settlement and the adults in the school get what they deserve as well.
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