LAUSD Officials Lock 'Suicidal' Six-Year-Old in Psych Ward After He Draws Picture of Violent Video Game

Parents let the kids play this crap. My son convinced me to get him some zombie thing while I was yelling at a guy in Best Buy for selling me a used Mac that crashed. Of course I said no until the manager ran off to fetch a fresh one and I was drunk on Victory so I conceded. He had nightmares and admitted the game caused this. We discussed zombies and how it is a goof on this religous thing called The Rapture.  It dawned on me that at around his age, 11, Sunday school was what caused my nightmares. To me the way the teacher and staff reacted was more harmful than a parental lapse in good judgement. The hype is like a drug that turn your child into a relentless machine. Eventually he will be whispering in your ear at night all the reasons he needs PS3 and the gruesome games besides. We learn from our mistakes and try to turn them into a teachable moment for our offsping as parents, and I do as a teacher. Funny, nothing these kids need more than truth and character. Me saying man, "I f ed up" in front of the whole class is something they respect. They are not all warped by rhetoric yet. Apologize to this little boy. You oppressed him, negated his right to expression. Unless you come clean, this little boy has to carry that sh** forever!

The kid may have the right idea. What exactly does he have to live for? Democracy is all but dead as the American Dream became a nightmare thanks to greed, which made evil people so rich, they have essentially taken over the priasons, the schools and the country: in an ironically named coup being manuevered by neo liberal philathropists.If this kid is in a public school here, he is being groomed for life as a wage slave as nuerotic liberals enforce an oxymoron called political correctness and duking it out ewith those who are right winging it. It is not about us against them, you idiots! This divide and conquer idiocy has us pitted against one another, our president and our children's salvation: education. supporter points out what our preoccupation with legal liability has made us. what really stinks is how the real criminals are actually protected by our laws because part of the problem is class size and what sounds like a teacher with PTSD, a condition that is presently an epidemic in teachers. And no wonder! Little hears and mids tap into this. The anxiety of parents and teachers undermines a child's sense of security. How many of us want to be responsible for 35 8 year olds 6 hours a day, deal with crazy parents, accept abuse from crazier administrators? Discover dues and contracts are a sham and they can be fired on a whim?How many parents want their kid in his or her classroom with 34 other kids, some already armed with guns, knives and thankfully pens. I am a teacher and art, which is what the kid created, is my salvation. And some of my work is kind of disturbing. If someone started freaking out about what I painted the way they did what the boy drew, I'd want to die to. It's hyperbole. Cheese and rice.

I have four words: I HOPE SHE SUES!!!

hEY, from other reports I've read, the school district was folowing procedure and that is exactly the problem here. Those procedures need to be declared over-reaching. Not only was the mother not given immediate custody upon request nor was the therapist called, nor the freakin trauma caused by a trip to the looney house weighed, but who the heck is gonna pay the bill for this? Sorry, but I gotta say, only in California. No wonder you guys are so freakin in the hole, with rules and laws like this being a-okay. EYE ROLL....

I am surprised the LA Weekly didn't report at the kid was raped, and that he was blond so he deserved it.

And don't say it was in his best interest. The Nazis killed millions of Jews in gas chambers 'in the best intrest the world.

So you have alittle kid trying to get to his emotions through art, deem that his way of thinking is unwanted, so he is effectively arrested. He is then kept prisoner away from his only remaining social support system for three days. Funny, I thought child abuse was illegal.

The district is supposed to use some mature judgment before taking action. Sounds like this was missing in this case. Unless he actually indicated he was a danger to himself or others, and not just expressing feelings through art (which is what the school psychologists and counselors should have determined), the action taken may have been too extreme and kneejerk.

so your kid never drew a picture of a dinosour or frankenstein or zombies? Your kids never pretented army or cops and robbers? lol, its the security machine making people so paranoid...they are took her child away in school and the parent could do nothing about it! she should sue the school system. At the very least a parent should have been with the child 24/7 just as a parent does if their child is in the hospital. a parent is always allowed!

Dear Simone,

Do you think it's possible that you could write a piece and get your point across without using half a case of sarcasm? It makes for a really rough read and is, sorry to say, just plain unprofessional (and so very LA Weekly.)

Steve

Hello;

i'm from Spain, so my oppinion has not real weight here, but believe me... seen from outside, this situation looks crazy:

- A child draws something related to a video game- As a result, he's tied up (as a criminal), forced to get into an ambulance (as a criminal) and separated from his mother

I don't know too much about US, but in many other places of the world that bo be enough to create a life-lasting trauma in a person. If you add to this the trauma associated with your father being sent to a war.... Well, I'd like to suicide after this episode, not before: this child must think that he is the worst monster in the world, as his sadness was prized with an unproportionated (not to say unfair and unnecessary) punishment

By the way... I guess violent video games are an inffluence... But I'd bet this child has seen a)many more violent images on TV (just on the news, add films, cartoons etc...) b) real weapons in his house... Is a video game a greater influence to a child than a constant reminder of the military power of your country? Can you teach someone to stay away from violence when your government is continously showing that "that's the way it is + dog eat dog + big fish eats little fish + hit'em before they hit you"? Are videogames more evil than that?

We need to get these trashy horribly violent video games out of the hands of all human beings. They are especially brainwashing our innocent children through the use of electronic hypnosis.This is a fact.

Not that the mother is at all healthy here... but how can anybody think that it is good for a 6 year old (or even 8) to be placed in this situation. He did not bring a weapon to school, he did not threaten himself or anybody else that I know of. I've only seen this article so forgive me if I missed the ak-47 in his backpack and the taking of hostages... but EXTREME MUCH?

I have no doubt that this needed to be reported to the authorities and handled with an investigation and possibly court intervention but this kid is going to remember that moment for the rest of his life... and they thought he was disturbed BEFORE?

That mom has a hell of a case and you can bet this kid is going to go through far worse by the time this is all over. But... his mom is going to own a school district.

Blaming "violent" video games is stupid. The kid was upset about his dad leaving, if I was six or eight or whatever age, and I knew my dad was going to be shipped overseas and possibly face death, I'd probably feel pretty miserable, too. Not only that, kids play "violent" games all of the time, we just have a problem with video games because they are more graphic. Cops and robbers or cowboys and indians is just as violent as Call of Duty. Activision just gave Black Ops better graphics than those role playing games that kids play. And aside from RP games that kids play, there are some pretty sadistic board games out there, too. Take a look at Clue, I mean, really?

Another point: Don't blame the mother in this situation. It's up for her to decide what her kid can and can't play/watch/read, etc. I grew up watching Pretty Woman and Sister Act, one is about a prostitute turned princess and the other is about a show girl in witness protection who gets shot at a lot. We probably watched tons of other "bad" movies and I played video games. I'm no worse for the wear, either. I'm a normal 21 year old in college. Don't do drugs, drink, or kill people or myself. Hmm. Not like everyone here is the best parent ever. Reserve your judgments, people.

The most DISTURBING part of this is that they withheld the boy from his mother for 48 hours. 2 days. That's longer than the POLICE can withhold a child from their parents without some kind of court order or warrant. Why didn't the school district turn the child over? The school district is definitely in the wrong here, whether or not the kid's mother will be winning the MoTY award anytime soon. WTF, people? Encouraging nanny states? How would you like it if someone took your kid away from you for 2 days? That's just ridiculous.

It's the sickest of circumstances. 1) This kid is obviously depressed about his father leaving and just wanted to express that in his writing and drawing. 2) LAUSD had no right to send the child to the psych ward prior to his mother giving her permission for such an admittance. 3) What the hell in going on in this country!?? Everyone seems to be whacked out of their skulls.

if you allow a 6 year old to watch very realistic war games on the tv, is it any wonder the kid is seeing a shrink ?

I wonder how many 6 yo have attempted or succeeded at suicide? The answer to that question should be the basis for reaction, not laws???? Can you say knee jerk authoritarian cya reaction by the school admin, if it were there child they would be flipped out by what they did!!!

When I was kid, I drew all the time. Lots of kids do.Me and my buddies drew stuff. You know what boys draw?Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs eating people, of course.Tanks and battleships. Fighter jets and TIE Fighters and Ninjas.All kinds of depictions of war and violence, complete with the "--------" coming outof the machines guns. This is what boys draw, based on my extensive experience of being a boy.

We were ALL psych cases or what?

"This kid is allowed to play violent video games at six years old, while perfectly aware his dad is doing the same thing only with real blood while overseas in the U.S. Army?"

His father is a soldier off to war, and he's playing at what his father is doing with his little wooden sword *excuse me* video game? At what point in the history of the human race as we've known it did this become and should it have ever become a controversy?

I am not speaking to the caption for the drawing: "I want to die", since the context in which the child meant what he wrote is *completely missing* and subject to wide interpretation by anyone who thinks about it enough.

While a six year old boy shouldn't be recreating his fathers tour through a video game I feel the school went to far.

This kid is clearly not being engaged enough with with parents or those teaching him at school.

Take a look at what no tolerance is doing to our boys.http://www.ted.com/talks/ali_c...

I think both parties here screwed up. Mom shouldn't be letting her 6 year old play Call of Duty and the school shouldn't have dragged a 6 year old off to a psych ward with no real reason.

I'll let everyone in on a secret here: Little boys draw explosions and guns and shit. We just do. It's in our nature. I did the SAME THING when I was this kids age. Was I ever suicidal? NO!

What video game was he drawing of? Hell, for all we know it was Mario & Yoshi battling Kirby in Super Smash Bros. The only conclusion I saw that it was a Violent Video Game Of Evil (TM) is the one the author jumped to.

If anything, this is another example of the War on Boys and the continuing pathologizing all things masculine. A 6 year old saying he wants to kill himself shouldn't be sneezed at, but it's also a freaking 6 year old so there's some context there. In other words he may have no idea what he's even talking about and is just verbalizing his feelings, not making an actual threat of suicide.

Furthermore, all of this jumping to conclusions crap has got to stop!

Unbelievable, the school requirements should require direct contact with the parents first and foremost. And follow up with the" Los Angeles County psychiatric mobile response team" oh wait, it's a six year old... Whay not send a psychiatrist and and plainclothes to the house and interview the teacher after verifying the child is ok or whatever is deemed necessary.

No, what's scary is that the school district has this much power. The kid just wanted to be home and comfortable because his dad was going overseas and might not return. Expressing pain in art is valid and theraputic. Authoritarianism is the evil here, not a six year old resonding in ways six year olds respond.

Wow, downright scary when you think about it dude. Wow.

www.anon-toolz.edu.tc

Should a six year old be playing violent video games like this one? Probably not. Did Dornan drop the ball by not having a better idea of what is and is not appropriate for her kid? Certainly. But LAUSD should have released the child to his mother upon demand. If a child gets into a fight or otherwise gets in trouble while at school, the school contacts the parent to come get the child. Why does this situation empower or authorize the District to forcibly transport and confine a child over his parent's protests? If liability is a concern, then that's easily solved - responsibility for the child's welfare passes back to the mother, where it started in the first place. On the other hand, from the sound of her, Mrs. Dornan would blame the District if it had, in fact, released her son to her and he had gone on to do something horrible to himself.

this is the most accurate written depiction of a very sad situation/scenario.. LA Weekly hit the nail on the head! Its Mom Dormin who needs help...LAUSD and PMRT did their job. Any child who is a "danger to himself or others" requires an evaluation. As mandated reporters, they are legally required to take action, exactly in the manner in which they did. This Mom needs to stop yapping to the media, and actually care for her disturbed son. Maybe she should actually consider the fact that violent video games are not appropriate for a 6yr old to view? Not to mention the fact that she brushes this incident off with comments like "I just thought he was making this up to get out of going to school." Hello? She should be grateful the school and PMRT did their jobs. If he had harmed himself, she would then be saying the LAUSD and PMRT allowed the terrible tragedy to occur. Message to Mom: take any threat of suicide by a child of any age as a serious situation! thanks to La Weekly for a fair report. finally!!! all other stations and news are sensationalizing for their own benefit = ratings!