Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

jason — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:52:50 GMT

its wrong

my 3 year old got slammed by his bus driver and the small town i am from wont do anything. turn it around put kid against driver and you'd be picking up JR. from jail.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Tara — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:07:47 GMT

It's just not cool for anyone to hit kids, ever. Why is it okay to treat kids with less respect than a grown adult?

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

JeanneSager — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:22:07 GMT

Thanks for the update Twyla - and my bad on the man/woman issue. I read "woman" in the original article, and yet my brain must have put "man" as I was writing. Apologies all around on that one.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

MomofBeans — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:17:47 GMT

If this happened to my kid I would be beyond livid. Unless my child pulls a gun on you, you shouldn't be putting your hands on her.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Knitty — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:18:03 GMT

Thanks for information, Twyla. My bad for assuming it was a man... and for being shocked to hear that it was a female driver. What you describe is horrifying; best of luck in getting a satisfactory conclusion to this.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Twyla — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:17:42 GMT

I am the parent who started the petition. I am good friends with the foster parent of the spanked child. I would like to clear some things up for your readers. The bus driver is a female and the bus was not in motion. The young man was turned around in his seat talking to the students behind him while the bus was stopped at a school. There were other adults available to help her if needed. The students who were to get off at that school were still on the bus so the bus was not going to be moving soon. Also, the bus driver did not give him one swat to the tushy. She actually gave him 4-5 smacks on the thigh.

The school district has re-opened the case due to new information about the driving practices. Unfortunately, when the original investigation was conducted the administration was not informed of the numerous complaints of her hard braking, running off the road, and nearly hitting other cars.

Thanks for your support. We will continue to persue this matter until we are satisfied with the results.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Knitty — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:34:06 GMT

I bet this guy has a lot of simmering resentment towards the kids he buses around. Of course, recalling what madhouses schoolbusses when when I was a kid, I can't say I entirely blame him.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Manjari — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:18:36 GMT

I would be livid if someone hit my kids, for any reason.

Our buses never had seat belts.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Mamallama — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:24:46 GMT

In our school district, only the small buses have seat belts.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

JeanneSager — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:31:34 GMT

Actually, Veronica, a number of school buses DO have seatbelts. The bus I rode to school for most of my days in New York did - it's state law here as it is in a number of states. By 2011, the feds are requiring all smaller buses have seatbelts installed. But even in states where they aren't mandated, a number of parents report there are indeed belts in place - the issue for many of those parents is whether or not the kids use them.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Veronica — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:09:49 GMT

School buses don't HAVE seatbelts.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Sheri — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:07:01 GMT

One of our kid's kindergarten friends was pulling the same behavior several days in a row. She got kicked off the bus for a week. She was allowed back, but now she has a "special seat" right behind the bus driver--no one is allowed to sit with her--and she is required to wear a seatbelt. If she pops it off without permission, she will be booted from the bus route for the rest of the year. This is the type of discipline I would expect if it were our daughter.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Joanie — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:00:06 GMT

Not sitting down on the bus? I think that's pretty serious, actually. I would way rather have my kid popped on the buns and in her seat than running around while the bus is moving. Not that it's great to have bus drivers making discipline choices, but when it's a matter of safety, I'd default to the driver with appropriate disciplinary action later -- just what they did. I certainly wouldn't think of spanking as 'assault' ...unless there were marks? Really, I'd hate to think that my child could be in danger because someone was afraid that I'd sue the school later.

re: Bus Driver Spanks 6 Year Old For Not Sitting Down

Treydawgg — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:33:46 GMT

I agree with you. There's a better way, and this driver didn't choose an acceptable option!