The Age of Criminalizing Children

Sometimes I´m pretty sure I´ve unknowingly fallen into an alternate universe and more and more, I know I am a stranger in a strange land. It´s hard to pinpoint exactly when this odd change occurred in our society and when it became acceptable to arrest and handcuff young children, but in this brave new world we are living, it seems to be approaching the norm. I wonder where common sense has gone and I ache for the children growing up under these over-the-top rules that have become so popular these days.

I remember when I was in school, misbehaving children received a visit to the principal´s office, detention, in-house or off grounds suspension, but now schools have police or "safety" officers on the grounds, quick to view our kids as hardened criminals. I´ve seen a few headlines of late about children being handcuffed in school and I wondered how often these "isolated" events happen and shockingly, with very little effort, I found case after case. I´m not talking about children who are threatening other students or bringing guns or knives to school, I have been dismayed to learn that simple and typical childhood behaviors are now introducing children to the criminal justice system.

Two 4-year-old boys were removed from a preschool class and handcuffed by the school safety officer for refusing to take a nap. The boys said the officer told them "You know what happens when you don't go to sleep in there? . . . When you go to jail, you're not going to have no fun, no TV, no toys." The parents of the boys are suing the city.