6 yr old suspended for gun gesture. Thoughts?

I was on Yahoo, and came across this article

http://news.yahoo.com/maryland-school-suspends-six-old-boy-making-gun-120614885.html

To sum it up, a 6 year old boy was suspended from school for one day because he made a gun out of his hands, pointed at another student and said "pow". According to the parents there were no other incidents prior to suspention that they were informed of, and they feel the school is over reacting. Thoughts??

Over reacting.

Wayyyyy overreacting. My son would be suspended every day, and he's 2. He shoots everything.

WAY overreacting! The child didn't have any type of weapon that he was pointing around. Do I think he should be pretending to make guns with his hands, no, But that does not involve suspending him from school...

Overreacting for sure!

Over reacting. Like a 6 year old meant that in a malicious way..

the school probably has a no-tolerance policy for weapons and drugs.

I read the other day a teenager was suspended because she wrote a poem about the Sand Hook School shooting.

I think 6 is a little young to really understand why he's in trouble.

Deny a child of an education because he was acting like a child? Ridiculous.
He should learn that it's not okay to do that to people but I highly doubt he was honestly thinking in his head "I want to kill you."

Usually I'd say that it's an over reaction bc he's a kid. But some parents don't take aggression seriously and if there's been prior incidents then maybe it'll light a fire under the parents asses and teach the child that certain things won't be tolerated. I'm all for it.

E: oops! I just read that they're were NO prior incidents to the suspension. In that case, it's an over reaction. The teacher is suppose to teach and guide their students. If he was acting aggressively or not catching onto the rules after various attempts...then suspension would be a fair option.

<blockquote><b>Quoting loser mom:</b>" the school probably has a no-tolerance policy for weapons and drugs. I read the other day a teenager ... [snip!] ... she wrote a poem about the Sand Hook School shooting. I think 6 is a little young to really understand why he's in trouble. "</blockquote>




6 is not too young to understand consequences. Kids are incredibly smart. They just need guidance. I was this child's age when I was taught to never point guns at ppl, real or fake. I understood and never did.

6 is rather young but I guess it would depend on the context. If they were arguing and he was doing it in an aggressive and violent way it needed to be addressed. If they were just playing it was a huge over reaction. Either way I don't think suspension was the correct action.

On the surface it seems like an overreaction, but without detail about the "prior incident" noone can really say that for certain.

Quoting Suckafish:" <blockquote><b>Quoting loser mom:</b>" the school probably has a no-tolerance policy ... [snip!] ... need guidance. I was this child's age when I was taught to never point guns at ppl, real or fake. I understood and never did."

Yes, but not all children mature at the same age. I know when I was six my brothers and I played cops and robbers, and cowboys and indians and we "shot" eachother plenty of times. If someone told me not to, I wouldn't have understood why. I grew out of it when I was about eight. I'm not saying he shouldn't be taught that it isnt ok, but I think suspension should not have been the first choice of punishment in this situation.

They sent Dean home from school for picking up a shovel and pretending it was a gun,
they said I *had* to put him in counseling to find out why he would do such thing   I did take it very serious,
Some parents should take it more serious,

<blockquote><b>Quoting Soon 2B Mom of 2:</b>" Yes, but not all children mature at the same age. I know when I was six my brothers and I played cops ... [snip!] ... be taught that it isnt ok, but I think suspension should not have been the first choice of punishment in this situation."</blockquote>



I edited my post. I thought I read that there were prior incidents as well.
I understand that children develop differently. But developing a moral identity and being taught how to handle emotions, understanding right from wrong etc should be grasped a lot better, not perfectly, but better at age 6. If he was 2,3,4 years old it would be different.