Indeed. When punishing a child for somehting, the parents are best when they aren't emotional about it.

Yep, and so she thinks by crying that she's more "innocent" and they'll go easier on her. So not only does it show she knows the difference, she's also chosen to not give a damn.

That's BS. A 5 year old doesn't have the experience yet to know about manipulating police.

QFT!

She obviously didn't think there would be consequences to her actions until they handcuffed her. Then she learned that there were consequences, and she didn't like that one bit.

I applaud the vice principal, the teachers, and the police's work. This girl needed to learn that she couldn't simply do what she wanted, and I think it has begun to dawn on her. The mother can go to Hell.

probably true. These days, a lot of parents don't have any balls whatsoever, so they don't do any discipline. Kids are not adults, so they should not be treated like adults. When kids act out of line, they should be disciplined according to the severity of the behaviour. Failure to do this makes the kids grow up to be spoiled little s***s.

What about manipulating parents? What if she wanted a cookie but they wouldnt give it to her?
Cry to make the parents feel bad and then shed get the cookie. Simple as that

Wanna bet? I've known several 5 year olds that knew crying meant they would get things to go their way.

Never under estimate brats, especially from these days.

If my 5 year old starting crying because they wouldnt get a cookie. I would take a cookie, and slowly eat it in front of them.

I guess I just don't know enough spoiled brats.

Also, I avoid small children like the plague for that very reason...

BUT the child doesn't process the thought logically, like "If I cry, I'll get what I want, so I'll make myself cry."

At least not when your 5.

Ya want to bet? I've seen 3 year olds do that. You'd be surprised how young they learn.

You've seen a 3-year-old's thought process?

Do tell. :p

Vivisection.

I would have kneecapped her.

Actually, that is very much the case. Kids aren't stupid.

I imagine there was an element of fear involved in the girl crying after she got cuffed, but you can't rule out she was doing it so they would stop. AS many have said, you'd be surprised how early kids learn how to get what they want, I've seen it waayyy too many times. Of course, then its fun to enlighten the children on the fact that you know, and watch them just stop immediately.

That couldn't be further from the truth. There are kids called "headbangers" that, to get attention from parents, will literally bash their heads into walls or furniture. The parents will then come rushing over, blubbering about what happened, and the kid will get the attention he/she wants.

If a kid's willing to endure that kind of pain to get something, what's crying?

Right. Either she realized she was actually in trouble or she turned on the waterworks to try to get some sympathy.

A child will do that as soon as they're old enough to realize that they want something. I've seen babies less than a year old do that very thing. It all depends on the parents. If they always get what they want when they cry (whether it's food, attention, or anything) they will cry whenever they don't get what they want. They begin to equate crying directly to getting what they want. I've seen this from personal experience (I have a large family and have been around babies and children for all of my 21 years) and from developmental psychology courses in college. Kids become spoiled at an incredibly early age.

Its what's called a positive-reinforcement loop. A kid gets what they want by crying, so next time they don't get something they want, they try crying. if it works again, then the next time that goes higher up on the list of options, and so on. Same thing for punishments. they find that, for the same bad thing, they get a lesser punishment when they cry, so they learn to use it. its a basic instinct, kids can do it at any age. everyone here does it, too, you just oen't realize it much.

That's why parents should use selective extinction. In other words, when a kid is crying for something they need, sure, help them, cause they need it. but if its something they want, the best option is to simply ignore it. then they learn that it doesn't work, and it eventually drops from the list of options. Same thign with any otehr behavious, like temper tantrums. If a kid throws a fit, ignroe them, you pay attention to tehm, they realize this gets attention. this is obviously very bad, and leads to what that kid did. OR holding thier breath. Any parent who falls for this trick is an idiot. Even if a kid does send themselves to sleepy land, not only does it make it alot quieter, but they start breathing again as soon as they drop off. Anyway, that's enough out of me.

You speak the truth

She was behaving like my cat behaves. Kids are always testing limits. If bad behaviour is rewarded (for example, by eventually giving in to a child's demands when they are behaving badly), then they will behave that way, or worse, again. You can't blame a child for the failings of its parents and the education system. This woman clearly doesn't know what the hell she is doing and has no place raising (and education workers do this) children.

They really should bring the canes back.

Who else was waiting for the kid to hit the v.p. dead in the face when she was on the table.

That little girl deserved it. I just feel bad for the legal stuff the school is going to have to go through. You know the parents will probably make a scene about it and most likely say something about how the v.p. had no right to touch their daughter. After all, this is America...the land where one can be sued for baking cookies for your neighbor. (if y'all remember that story...)

Damn PC society. It's making even protecting yourself, like the cops did, taboo.

Personally, I believe in limited spankings. If a kid takes a crayon and draws on the wall, you don't smack them but make them clean it up and then ground them. But if a kid hits the parents, and it's a substantial hit, not some baby hit, then they should bend the kid over and POW! Same should go with schools.

I always found it amusing when parents hit their children, saying "Don't hit! Hitting is wrong!"