This is so sad and disturbing
 

I work for a before and after school program and one of the kids (he's 7 or 8) said something today that really bothered me. He told me that he wanted to get a dog so he could put a shock collar on it and shock it when it's being bad. I told him that you can train a dog to do things without being mean to them and he goes, "Well, I don't like dogs anyway". It made me sad because he had to learn this from somewhere. I'm assuming his parents don't like animals and that who he got this from. I also find it really disturbing when kids feel the need to hurt animals... I think that can be a really bad sign.

That is really sad... :(

Sorry you had to hear that.

That is extremely sad, disturbing and could be a very bad sign that this boy has some psychological problems. Maybe you should talk to a school counselor about him?

:thumbup::thumbup:

You gotta love their honesty. I do think this is something that they learn. I worked with kids for years. You'd be surprised what they say. I was even bit by a little boy once because he wanted to. They do weird things. It's a sad thought regardless.

I agree, this is so disturbing coming from a small child:(

That is really disturbing coming from such a young child.

Is it just me or do kids today, in general, seem to have more problems? I worked in a daycare almost 10 years ago with 40 school-age children and I didn't deal with near the amount of problems I have dealt with since I started this job. I only have 11 kids in my program and I've already had one child permanently suspended for being violet towards me and the other kids. I have one 6 yr. old child who gets upset all the time and says he just wants to be dead and spits on himself (I have a meeting scheduled with his mom) and now the child talking about wanting to hurt animals. It's soooo sad.

No it's not just you. I worked for our local school district from '98 to 2006 and was shocked at how the kids had changed. I think the past 30 years kids have been so lost, with parents into drugs, into themselves, letting kids "parent" themselves....and...yes, I'll go ahead an say it - a lack of morality (God). When I was in school we didn't have discipline problems, ADHD, meth addicted parents and so many other problems that we are faced with today. The problems back then were so minor in comparison to today's.

That is very sad. I'm guessing he is an abused child, and he wants to vent his anger on something more helpless than he is, because that is what he has learned.

I see a serial killer in the making.

Yes, I have noticed that very few children in my program seem to have healthy family homes with 2 parents. One child doesn't see her mom because she has a drug problem, another has a father that lives in another state and only sees him 6 weeks out of the year, another is raised by his grandparents. When I was a kid, most of my friends' parents were married and had great homes. It makes me scared to think what children will be like when I have kids.

You are so right. Most of my daughters friends can't hang out on the weekend because they are with their dad. The ones that are together one of them is an alcoholic. One of her friends found a bag of marijuana in her fathers truck. I think it has become a huge problem for these kids. They say oh I have to meet my mothers boyfriend or my fathers girlfriend. My kids are the oddballs because they have married parents.

Don't get me wrong I understand why couples aren't together anymore but i do think it is hurting the next generation.

Times have changed drastically. It is very sad to see such young children with these kinds of issues. While divorce is more prevalent, so are the children having children. I often think these young kids having children end up resenting them and take it out on the children and are not mature enough to discipline them. Children need consistent discipline to establish good behavior. As for divorced parents, the issues are the same. Often it becomes a "get even" issue between the parents and the children suffer the consequences.

I have always taken some of these kids under my wing and I can't tell you how much they appreciate having a stable adult to talk to. Many of them just need to be shown that they have value as an individual and be steered in the right direction.

You're right about how much the lost kids appreciate stability. Our home has always been open to our sons friends and most weekends we had at least 2-3 other kids staying with us (lol...maybe that's why I foster, I'm just so used to it). It wasn't until after our sons were grown that they told me how much their friends loved being here and how lucky they thought our sons were to have parents that really cared about their children and other kids.

To this day, I get graduation announcements from the kids at the high school, and I have not worked there in 4 years, but they still remember - I cared! And, yes - I go to graduation every year - just for them!

I agree this is a very bad sign, he needs counseling. Animal abuse, even just talking about abuse is a warning sign.

Maybe you could get a Humane Society to come and do a presentation for the kids. Many times they do it for free. Have them share stories about animals that were abused what happens to them. Also, how animals just need to be loved and taken care of.
I think you're right about the child learning it from somewhere...Parents or whoever. It really is sad.

That's a really good idea! We are allowed to have speakers come once a month on Wednesday so I am going to look into that.

I think kids do pick up things from their parents. I was always scared of cats because my parents were both scared of cats.

However, hurting animals can be a sign of something very serious, especially if the child also wets the bed and sets fires. I think the child needs to be evaluated and I'm praying that it's nothing serious.

I completely feel you on this. I constantly tell my parents Kaji is the only grandchild I will ever give them. While I feel that parents are the number one source of all a child's learning (and I don't mean schooling) they also learn how to be people from the people around them. Sour teachers, other children with issues and so on. The last four years I've spent working in the classroom as a TA, Early Childhood Associate, program leader of an after school program, and a tutor. It's amazing how many of the parents I met didn't care about their kids. Sure they gave them all the material things, but not what really matters. Love, caring, guidance, and direction. For a majority of the students these things were lacking. One jr high kid told me she wanted to run away because she wasn't appreciated at home, but she felt she couldn't do it because she had no one to runaway too. She felt like no one wanted her. When working with kindergarten, the teacher or I often waited with this one little boy for hours after school because his mom didn't come to pick him up. He often didn't even come because his mother "couldn't" bring him. I could go on but you girls get the idea. It's heart braking.

I think having the humane society come speak to the kids is a fantastic idea! I know the SpcaLA has a program for kids and they do come talk to them about animal welfare.

OMG that is soooo sad. I remember one time when I was in elementary school and my gpa was late picking me up like 10 mins, and I started crying and went to the office to ask if I could use the phone to call him. I can't imagine how this little boy feels. :(

I do agree also with whoever said the children having children thing and they seem to resent their kids. I have seen this so many times from customers at my shop. Moms that got "knocked up" by some random guy they met at a party or something, and now that they have a kid they "can't go out anymore" :eek:. There was one little girl in particular who was very nice and cute and was talking to some other customers that she wanted to say hi to, and when they left, the little girl asked them if she could have a hug. Well her mom flipped out, and said don't act like you never get any attention at home! And then apologized to the people her kid asked for a hug from, I'm so sorry I don't know what's wrong with her.

I fell in love with that little boy. I swear, if I could, I would have taken him home. He was the sweetest most loving little boy. He was so behind because he missed half the year. He had to repeat kindergarten. I'm never going to forget little Melvin. There's also another little girl from the same class. Her mother was young, either my age or a little younger, and she had an on again off again relationship with the little girls dad. Well they were on again, and the the mom and dad went out to party leaving the little girl and her infant brother with gma. They both got so hammered, yet the mother drove home. They crashed killing the little girl's dad, and the mother was sent to jail. They couldn't just stay home and be a family could they?

OMG that is sooooo sad!:(:(:(

I've got a ton of stories. Basically, all the stories have one thing in common, selfishness. The parents only think about what they wanted and not what's best for their children.