http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2103412/Mother-forced-10-year-old-son-walk-5-miles-school-faces-jail-time-endangerment.html

Quote :

Mother who 'forced 10-year-old son to walk 5 miles to school faces jail time for endangerment'

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:54 PM on 19th February 2012





A mother faces a year in jail after forcing her 10 year old son to walk almost five miles to school after he was banned from the school bus.

Valerie Borders said she wanted to teach her son Nequavion a lesson after his bad behaviour led to his bus riding privileges being suspended at his school in Arkansas.

The 34-year-old ordered him to walk to school from their home in Jonesboro, rather than drive him to school.





But during his 4.6mile walk he was spotted by a security guard as he crossed a bank parking lot.

The guard called police who took the boy to school and then contacted his mother who was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

According to an arrest report when police picked up the boy he told them: 'Please don’t take me home. Mother will beat me.'

Police said the boy's mother had overstepped the mark with her punishment.

'You ask yourself the question, is that safe for the child?' said Jonesboro Police spokesman Sgt. Lyle Waterworth.

'And if you wouldn’t want your child doing it, you probably don’t need some (other) child doing it.

'There were a number of things that could have happened to the child. The child could have been injured, abducted,' said Sgt Waterworth.

Nequavion Jones said he agreed with his mother's punishment and doesn't want to see her get into trouble.

'She did the right thing, she knew that I had been suspended off the bus five days, so she didn't do nothing wrong. She made me walk. I just had to walk. They shouldn't have picked me up. I could've walked by myself, ' said Nequavion.

The youngster had his bus privileges suspended for a fifth time due to yelling.

If found guilty his mother faces up to a year in jail for a fine of $1,000.

The story doesn't say anything about the route the boy had to take being unsafe like no sidewalk or having to cross uncontrolled intersections, etc. Just that it was 5 miles. That's a 10 mile round trip. Harsh? Yeah but I'm not ready to say the mother is guilty of anything yet.

Eh, I can't hate on her disciplining him, some if these bad ass kids don't need transportation to school. They don't appreciate it. There was a time when kids walked much further than that.

I agree with Al...it depends on the danger of the route.

It is such an ironic situation...I think kids get banned from the bus so their parents will be pissed because they have to arrange for transportation. Around here, kids are kicked off the bus before they are even forced to sit in the front seat. To me, that should be a punishment before resorting to being kicked off.