A Little Girl's Bad Day

I shared a story this morning that told about a little girl on a rampage. Here's the story from United Press:

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga., April 17 (UPI) -- Police say they needed to handcuff a 6-year-old Milledgeville, Ga., girl for allegedly throwing a tantrum that injured a school principal.

Kindergartener Salecia Johnson allegedly tore items from walls, threw furniture and knocked over a bookshelf that injured the principal of Creekside Elementary School.

When police arrived, Salecia was in tears in the principal's office. They said they tried to reason with Salecia but she wouldn't hear it. So they cuffed her.

Police Chief Dray Swicord said he takes a hard line on suspects, regardless of whether they've had nap time.

"Our policy is that any detainee transported to our station in a patrol vehicle is to be handcuffed in the back," Swicord told WMAZ-TV, Macon, Ga. "There's no age discrimination on that rule."

Salecia was taken down to the station and booked on charges of simple assault and damage to property. She will not have to appear in court, but there's no word on whether or not her milk money will cover bail. She was suspended from school until August.

"She has mood swings some days, which all of us have mood swings some days," said Constance Johnson, the girl's mother. "I guess that was just one of her bad days that day."

Tom here again... I guess what bothered me about this was the seemingly flip way the mother explained her daughter's actions. Again, I don't know the story except what's written here, but it would seem to me the little girl is crying out for attention. I think I angered some Warm fans by saying I thought it might be a case of bad parenting - just from what I interpreted here.

Guess what? I could be totally wrong and this poor child could have loving and devoted parents yet be suffering from mental illness. The point is, I am well aware of the things that could potentially drive a child to behave this way. Let's just hope her actions this week get them the help they need.