Temper Tantrum Arrests
Temper tantrums are something that most parents live with; whether through tiredness, irritability, boredom or plain old willfulness, each and every child finds it necessary to express themselves in this way at some point. However, I find it astonishing that this can be a punishable crime in America due to the laws pertaining to children’s rights.
Actual charges have been filed against children over what are essentially temper tantrums over the last decade and amazingly a law enforcement officer can even charge a young child with resisting arrest. Temper tantrums may not be pleasant but they are a normal reaction from children who are too young to know better. I believe they are part of a child finding their own identity and cannot imagine how they could be viewed as an intention of criminality. They are a part of Read the article below for further details on the subject.
Article: The Rights of Children in the United States
This entry was contributed by Claire Connolly.
May 13th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Oh, my goodness! This just sounds ridiculous. As you pointed out, most all children go through a phase similar to this, and to think that charges can actually be leveled is crazy. I think if an officer actually issued a sitation in an instance like this, I would think he/she has entirely too much excess time on his/her hands.
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:10 am
Law enforcement seems so out of control these days. There’s a television advertisement screening in Australia that makes me laugh. A young boy starts to have a tantrum in the grocery store, and stops suddenly when his mother throws herself on the ground and has a tantrum. He’s so shocked when she picks herself up that he doesn’t think to start complaining! Perhaps it’s a tactic that more parents should try!
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:41 pm
The problem in a lot of places is that many police have to adhere to certain targets and then waste time making excess arrests instead of concentrating on putting effort into more serious matters that will take up time as the less important stuff can be cleared up quickly allowing them to have more time to reach their targets. Sad and entirely overboard, but true of many police forces at present.
May 26th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
i heard that once a couple was asked to de-board a plane coz their kid was having a temper tantrum!! thats something..