Police phoned after child's ears pierced: What do you think?

Who was right here?

  • The mother to continue when the child was so distressed?

  • The lady who reported what she considered to be child abuse?

Results are only viewable after voting.
BagAngel

BagAngel

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Oct 30, 2006
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#1
Who was right?

Police phoned after child's ears pierced

WICHITA, Kan., July 4 (UPI) --


A woman called police to a Wichita, Kan., Wal-Mart after witnessing a store employee pierce the ears of a screaming child.
Marilyn Johnson said the store employee and the girl's mother were ignoring the young girl's screams, she confronted the pair, The Wichita Eagle reported Wednesday. However, she said the mother and employee ignored her questions so she phoned police and reported the incident as child abuse.
"This little girl was about 5 years old and was crying her eyes out," Johnson said. "Her face was beet red, and she was screaming and coughing and saying things like, 'I don't want this! It hurts! Please stop!' She was grabbing her ears so the adults couldn't touch them.
"I saw a child crying and screaming and pleading for someone not to do something to her," she said. "And if that's not child abuse, I don't know what is."
However, police who arrived on the scene informed Johnson that she was in the wrong. Wichita police spokesman Gordon Bassham said neither the girl's mother nor the employee doing the piercing had broken the law.
A Wal-Mart store official said Johnson, who was issued a warning for trespassing, will no longer be allowed in the establishment.
 
#2
I don't think either were right.
I don't understand why it is legal to give children piercings, especially children so young. It's assault, if you intentionally made your child bleed any other way the police and/or social services would have something to say about it.
The mother wasn't right, why intentionally cause your child so much distress just so you can dress her up with earrings?
But then I imagine you have kids screaming that they don't want to have a bath or eat their greens so maybe as a mother you get so detached from the screaming that you can do this kind of thing and think it's ok, once it's done, she'll be happy wearing her earrings and forget about the 5 minutes of pain and tears.
The woman who interfered wasn't right either, nobody was breaking the law so it seems a waste of police time.
 
#3
^^^^^

Agree it was a waste of police time but I suppose the woman was so concerned about the childs distress that she didn't know what else to do.
As you say sad that a mother will put her kid through this for her own vanity.
That poor kid will probably have a phobia of needles for the rest of her life & who can go through life without some sort of injection?
 
#5
sorry but what was the mother thinking? if the child refuses why go ahead? it isn't vital or anything. point is that parents like this will lead to laws about this kind of stuff, thus making it so much harder for a 'normal' parent.

as for the lady phoning the police - did she think they were going to arrest the mother? for me, it had nothing to do with the employee but everything to do with the parent.

this is assuming the lady who called the police did not make anything up or grossly exaggerate.
 
#8
I really don't understand how a mother can listen to her child screaming like that and carry on - it was obviously the mother than wanted the daughter's ears pierced rather than the daughter!!!! I don't agree with that - I'm sorry but I hate it when I see babies or toddlers with their ears pierced - it was not their decision was it???

I had my ears pierced when I was 5 but I pestered my mum for months and months before she let me have them done.

My daughter had hers done when she was 6 because she pestered me about having them done.

I think the passer by who reported it didn't know what else to do and was destressed to hear a child soooo upset - wouldn't we all want to do something?
 
#9
The kid is obviously spoiled...the mom should teach her kid not to throw a tantrum in public. If the police actually sided with the lady who called, then every kid who throws a tantrum would get police protection. Every dentist would then be arrested.

I know plenty of kids who begged for something, then threw a tantrum when they were getting it. (Eg. beg for swimming lessons, ear piercing, etc).
 
#10
cola262 said:
The kid is obviously spoiled...the mom should teach her kid not to throw a tantrum in public. If the police actually sided with the lady who called, then every kid who throws a tantrum would get police protection. Every dentist would then be arrested.

I know plenty of kids who begged for something, then threw a tantrum when they were getting it. (Eg. beg for swimming lessons, ear piercing, etc).
Click to expand...

What? So a child isn't allowed to change their mind, nor scream at the thought of a needle (not for health purposes, like an immunization) piercing her earlobes and not want it to happen? Spoiled? How bout scared??
 
#11
ILoveMyBug said:
I think I'd probably have found the manager or supervisor and got them to stop the employee :cursing:
Click to expand...
I probably would have tried that first before calling the police. The police have better things to do than take calls about ear piercings.
Even if one ear had already been done, the mother should have just stopped when the kid started screaming. You can always take the earring out and let the hole close up. The girl has her life to get her ears pierced if she wants them.
 
#12
cola262 said:
The kid is obviously spoiled...the mom should teach her kid not to throw a tantrum in public. If the police actually sided with the lady who called, then every kid who throws a tantrum would get police protection. Every dentist would then be arrested.

I know plenty of kids who begged for something, then threw a tantrum when they were getting it. (Eg. beg for swimming lessons, ear piercing, etc).
Click to expand...
You OBVIOUSLY DON'T HAVE KIDS! I can't believe the nerve of what you actually posted. Shame on you! The child wasn't having a temper tantrum. She was terrified. Perhaps she never wanted this in the first place, did you think about that? How did you come to the conclusion the child is spoiled? Wait until you have kids, (hopefully YOU WON'T), AND SEE THAT IT ISN'T ABOUT TEACHING THEM TO NOT HAVE TANTRUMS, SORRY TO INFORM YOU- IT doesn't work that way.
 
#13
cola262 said:
The kid is obviously spoiled...the mom should teach her kid not to throw a tantrum in public. If the police actually sided with the lady who called, then every kid who throws a tantrum would get police protection. Every dentist would then be arrested.

I know plenty of kids who begged for something, then threw a tantrum when they were getting it. (Eg. beg for swimming lessons, ear piercing, etc).
Click to expand...
:wtf::confused1::confused1::confused1:

I'm not going to flame you, but I have to ask, did you read the article? The child wasn't throwing a tantrum because she didn't get her 5th tickle me elmo doll. She was being forced against her will to have a metal rod stuck through her ears by one stranger and one adult she believes to be her protector.


I don't know what I feel about this. I read the article this a.m. I feel the passer by did the right thing. Better to error on the side of a child's welfare and have the world come down on you harshly, then say nothing at all and live w/that knowledge of doing nothing forever.
 
#14
I think both parties were in the wrong here.

The mother for not taking into consideration her screaming child.

The caller for wasting the Police's time and effort and for butting in..

On another note, not sure what I would do, but in my culture, girls get their ears pierced when they are babies, and if they are really old school, then they do it with a needle and thread. I don't see anything wrong with it, but then again, to each their own!
 
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