Posted on 12/16/2006 7:20:34 AM PST by Graybeard58
Last month, a 4-year-old Texas student was suspended for hugging a teacher's aide in what school officials called a case of sexual harassment.
However, most experts of psychology and law say a child that young cannot commit sex crimes usually reserved for adults.
"It's just ridiculous," said Jeanne Milstein, a child advocate for the state of Connecticut. "A 4-year-old has no idea what sexual harassment is."
A pre-kindergartner at La Vega Primary School in Bellmead, Texas, near Waco was given an in-school suspension after he allegedly rubbed his face into the bosom of a teacher's aide. The two hugged before he boarded the school bus.
The incident isn't an anomaly: There have been several similar cases in New England. In May, five Boston elementary school children were suspended after playing something called the "rape game" by choking, scratching and grabbing one another. A 6-year-old from Brockton, Mass., was suspended in January after inserting his fingers into a female classmate's waistband. In 2000, a group of Bath, Maine, third-grade boys, similarly, came close to prosecution after pinning girls to the ground and simulating sexual acts.
But local professionals who work with children say the youngest ones don't have the capacity to sexually harass or even understand the concept. By definition, sexual harassment involves superiority over another person, as well as sexual gratification.
They say a child knows neither of those things.
Clinical psychologist Lynn Marlow said for children most instances of so-called sexual harassment come down to experimentation or curiosity. More seriously, they might also be a child acting out abuse.
Feelings of attraction form by late elementary school, she said. Sexual orientation and other strong sexual feelings occur at the onset of puberty.
"It's not at all uncommon for children that age to engage in some "I'll show you mine if you show me yours' exploration,'" said Marlow, based in Cheshire. "They don't have a clear sense of what they're doing or why it might be inappropriate."
She said the proper reaction should be talking to the child and finding out why they did it. Give them guidance, she said.
More serious offenses should be referred to juvenile court, said Francis J. Carino, a supervisory juvenile prosecutor in the office of the Chief State's Attorney. There, the child would get assessment and evaluations.
"It's a legitimate concern when you see a child in this age group engaging in this kind of behavior," he said.
Still, reprimanding them severely won't help; nor will criminal charges, experts said. Both actions would undoubtedly terrify a child.
"The more you punish, the less available a child will be to learn anything from a specific incident," said Dr. Joseph Conrad, director of home-based family services for New Opportunities Inc. in Waterbury.
He said the rash of recent sexual harassment incidents involving children can be pegged to school tragedies -- the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado at the forefront.
In that instance, teens Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 fellow students and wounded 24 others before killing themselves.
Since then, school officials believe they should respond to every incident, no matter how small.
Instead, he said, they should apply a "zero tolerance" idea with a conscience, and case by case.
"We're talking about human behavior," Conrad said. "If anything, it is still quite unpredictable."
"It's slippery slope you're advocating."
The history is the opposite of your opinion.
A "slippery slope" would imply a change leading to another change, etc., etc. And, as I noted to another poster on this thread; if it was truly "unconstitutional" you would think you would find less "blue laws" the closer you got in time to the first generation after the founding (they ought to know, they voted on the Constitution and its amendments).
But, in fact, "blue laws" and similar regulations regarding "business hours" were quite common in the history of the nation, not only common but prevalent and more prevalent the closer you get to that first generation. So, you know the Constitution that they wrote better than they did??
If there has been a "slippery" slope it would be the gradual abandonment of "blue laws" and the like, in favor of the retail industries and their consumer society. Nineteen states still maintain laws regulating business hours on Sundays, and there is movement in Texas to bring some of them back (it did not end its Sunday sales restrictions until 1985).
Many states, in addition to the 19 with general "blue laws" still keep liquor stores closed on Sunday. In Massachusettes stores have to be closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas and in Minnessota you are not only prevented from buying liquor on Sunday, you can't buy a car either (nor in NJ). While many of the laws began with religious motives in the colonies, others continued as instruments of labor regulation - with intentions of favoring the workers.
At least when you turned on your TV you were more likely to see "Leave it to Beaver" than the beaver.
I had not seen the comment made so I will. For many kids, four years old is just a couple of years past looking at a bosom as lunch. It is a warm and safe place to feel sheltered from the world, to feel safe and loved--especially for a little boy.
It is not the hysteria of those who see depravity around every corner. One seldom has to look that far.
It is the projection of depravity onto those who probably do not have a clue what the adults are talking about that is the measure of the depravity in our society.
It is the adults seeing 'sex' in everything, as they have been programmed to do by everything from TV to Psych 101.
Church attendance is way down, but this nonsense has gone off the charts in recent years, not because of churchgoers, who have always been able to identify depravity and tell the difference between it and the affection of a child.
It is this specific issue, one of an affectionate child hugging those whom they like being written up for sexual harrassment/contact, which has led me to forego retirement to send my grandchildren to parochial schools, where a little child can still hug a teacher without some nitwit crying rape.
Rent it; the scene is there; I may have paraphrased the description of it without 100% accuracy, but it is there.
And, why would any mother of a five your old girl want Disney selling that girl the notion to ask: "mommmy, can you buy me a thong" like the Princess in Shrek???" Its makes me shrek.
A whole lot of parents see nothing wrong with a kid -- even a very young one -- having a TV in his or her room hooked up to cable, and later on, a computer hooked up to the Internet.
And even if there's filtering/blocking going on, it's never foolproof. Some of the stuff on "kid's channels" intended for young teenagers is amazingly sleazy.
But can we give him the death penalty if he rubbed his head one time too many ?
This and the courts are getting out of hand. A 4 year old is a 4 year old and knows nothing about Sex or Harassment.
Forgive me as I am a Texan in a state that would pursue something as stupid as this.
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