General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: School drops sexual harassment claim against 6-year-old [View all]EducatorInTraining
(2 posts)I watched the video of the boy talking. And using my knowledge of child psychology it seems obvious that the mother of this child is not properly handling the situation. If anyone listens to the boy and not the mother they will hear that the boy thinks it is alright for him to use his normal energy in any way he sees fit. The boy knows he did something wrong but the end of his statement on the video seems to suggest that he was coaxed to say what his mother wanted him to say. This parent needs to teach the child when it is appropriate to use his energy and when it is not. He needs to be taught that kissing is not appropriate if the other person does not want it and should not occur at school.
I believe the mother said things that would make her story capture the news because at 6, being told he was in trouble for sexual harassment the child would not have asked "what is sex" he would have asked "what is that( or sexual harassment)"
I do not agree that the term sexual harassment should have been put in his file at this age, that should be saved for older children in Jr./Sr. High. This child obviously needs some guidance, and the parent(s) should consider getting family counseling so that they can learn how and what is appropriate to say when guiding this little boy. He needs to learn what is appropriate and not appropriate, but he needs his mother to not make excuses for his actions. He is 6, but that does not give him a right to touch another person...hearing his mother say that his is 6 and full of energy teaches him it is ok as long as he is 6...then next year 7...8...9...etc. Hearing his mother say it is not ok to touch people without their permission and omitting the age and energy statements will hopefully reverse any parenting choices that made the child think it was alright to kiss this girl.
Changing the Sexual Harassment label is appropriate for a child of this age, this is simply 'misconduct' or a better phrase 'inappropriate misconduct'. However, by using any label the school district as well as the parent(s) should be responsible to ensure that the child understands what the label means not just give the definition and expect them to know. There are many approaches to education and behavior that can be tried to help guide this child, but what ever is chosen needs to be implemented and reinforced both at school and at home to be fully effective.