Posted on 07/06/2006 10:41:40 AM PDT by devane617
NEW PORT RICHEY - Last week, her son turned 10 years old. On Tuesday morning, she watched as police took him away in a patrol car, charged with a felony.
A neighbor saw the boy break into her car and make off with a pocket knife, according to a police report.
Police were originally uneasy about arresting the boy, who will be a fourth-grader this year. But New Port Richey Lt. Jeffrey Harrington said the mother insisted. They charged him with armed burglary.
"The mother was at her wits' end," Harrington said Wednesday. "She thought he was just incorrigible. She asked us for help to get him into the system."
The single mother told the St. Petersburg Times that her son was so out of control that someone had to do something. (The Times is withholding her identity to avoid identifying the boy.)
"This kid has me in such fear for my own safety and my other son's (an 11-year-old) safety," she said. "I'm not giving up on him. I just think this is what he needs."
She said her son began beating her at age 6 with a Nerf baseball bat that had a metal rod inside. She said he knows that she has a bad leg from a car accident, and he aims directly for it. Sometimes, she said, he threatens to kill her or slit her throat during the night, and she is so afraid that she has a friend stay over so that she can get some sleep.
The mother listed several incidents involving her son since she moved to a new home June 1. The police had been to her home at least eight or nine times before the arrest.
Her son had punched walls in her last home, which angered the landlord so much that they had to move. She said he stole a bike from a little girl at the library and has also stolen jewelry, money and other items.
Recently, a police officer brought him home after he was found spray-painting the playground on Main Street, she said. But because of his age, nobody would press charges.
"Everyone's felt so bad because he's so young that nobody wants to press charges, but that doesn't help him," the mother said. "Apparently, he's trying to act like an adult, so he needs to be treated that way and learn he can't do these things."
When she saw her son in court Wednesday morning, she said, he was arrogant and refused to look at the judge, giggling throughout the proceedings.
"At one point, the judge had to yell at him to look up," she said. "And he said he didn't care if he was kept there for 21 days."
So that's exactly what the judge ordered. The 10-year-old will remain in the juvenile detention center near Land O'Lakes for just shy of a month. His mother said she hopes it will make a difference.
"I pray to God it will," she said "No matter how bad it gets, you just have to be a parent and give unconditional love."
Yes, hasty generalizations are no help for single moms, regardless of the cause of their being single. Not all single moms are bad moms.
ping
Dead right!
Only eight more years and he can register as a Democrat...
OMG,where did you get that? it always hung in the bathroom behind the door. my dad never had to use it, we knew it was there!!!
You are correct. Some people can not be helped.
Look at Lionel Tate.
I went through very much the same thing with my youngest. Rage fits, years of psychiatrists, medications, anger management, etc. I've lost jobs, husbands, friends, you name it. People can say whatever they want "give me a week with him" my boss likes to say - however, until you LIVE IT, you don't have a clue! I broke down and called the cops on my son about 4 months ago after he punched a hole in the wall in a fit of anger - it worked wonders - gave him a dose of real life that my spankings and groundings and taking things away could never do. He hasn't had another meltdown since - not at home, not at school. I even got a compliment on him from the city pool personnell on how well behaved he has become... now when his "cop friend" drops by, he loves it cause he has positive reports to give him. (He doesn't know that the cop was a friend of my husband's) but those handcuffs and sitting in the cop car for 45 minutes sure turned him around.
I applaud this mother for doing what she did. It hurts deeply to do it - I know it does - but you have to do what you have to do to help your kids. I don't think she's giving up, I think she's getting tough.
I hope the young man learns a lesson and doesn't make the same mistake again.
Only about 5 years. I'm familiar with the pattern here, it just never ceases to amaze me. When faced with little or no information, there's a large percentage that will always jump to a negative conclusion.
What about all the women who are now single parents due to husbands being killed in the war on terror? I'm sure these people wouldn't criticize those womenfor being single parents, yet without knowing all the details here, they feel free to criticize this woman.
Strike One...
She said her son began beating her at age 6 with a Nerf baseball bat that had a metal rod inside.
Strike two - she did nothing to fix the problem when he was still young enough to "make an impression on".
"Everyone's felt so bad because he's so young that nobody wants to press charges, but that doesn't help him," the mother said. "Apparently, he's trying to act like an adult, so he needs to be treated that way and learn he can't do these things."
They are just following the example YOU set regarding the discipline of your child (or lack thereof).
Just another case of poor/non-existant parenting forcing the state to step-in to take care of the MOTHER'S responsibility.
Ever watch the Nanny? Many parents of today have a disconnect concerning effective ways to discipline their children. Some let them have their way as an alternative to beating the ?$% out of them. They don't have a clue about in between alternatives.
In our County, we have several types of parenting classes we offer. Many are interactive and involve actually modelling of technique and coaching of parent with child. Sounds like she would have benfitted from one of these. In many counties, your child has to be in the system before you are eligible for help.
Kudos for your determination. I'm guessing that your boy was perhaps a little older when your intervention succeeded? Not minimizing your success in any way, but the age of the child will have some factor in the success of a plan.
There are so many variables and you sound as if you tried many more times to get the boy on the right track than did this woman. I don't criticize this mom, but I don't think we have the whole picture, either.
Good point. I agree. People are complex and so are situations. I hope the best for this young man and his frightened family.
Now I know that spanking might do this boy some good, but let's assume for once that this kid MIGHT be mentally ill. People don't wake up at 18 *become* mentally ill.
"What about all the women who are now single parents due to husbands being killed in the war on terror? "
Well...they should head down to their church and marry the first single man they find there. /sarc
Some human 'mothers' need spaying really really badly...
As a productive, law-abiding citizen with a familiy of my own who just happened to grow up in a single-parent home, I've given up explaining that to these ninnies. Children who grow up in single-parent homes commit crimes because they make crappy choices. Period.
The social and behavioral issues that not having a father in the home is the subject of another thread, so I'll not go into that here except to say that they don't involve criminal behavior.
Obviously, this boy needs a good lecture. If Mom would just reason with him, and appeal to the inherent goodness within him, then...
Thanks....I have been taking a whacking on my opinion!
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