4 Year Old Shoots Baby Sitter

I agree Doug.  That's just odd...  Very odd.  I wonder what type of environment he's been surrounded by, as well as the actions of the babysitter/parents toward the child. 

the type of anger that this would seam to indicate is not normal to a four year old

I don't know that I would consider that kind of impulsivity and intensity of feeling outside the range of what  normal 4 year old might experience, if a bit on the high end of anger.

normal 4 year olds usually don't have access to shotguns is the thing.

I do see your point about an abusive environment, although I'd tend to err on the side of just good ol' fashioned stupid parenting.

A four year old does not have an adequate understanding of death, the consequences of firing a gun at someone or the pain caused by injury to another. They are still developing their sense of empathy.

However, a 4 year old is a sponge -- they soak up the behavior of those around them as they try to figure out how things work. If they saw "Daddy" with the gun and saw someone on TV using a simliar gun, it is not hard for them to put two an two together.

Lastly, a 4 year old has little or no impulse control. This is why it is so difficult to diagnose ADD. It's not that much different than a normal child of that age.

All we have here is a gun death narrowly averted.

You wanna bet?  How many 4 yo have you been around?  I have a niece who is 4 yo now and she is way too smart beyond her years.  I was going to teach pre-K (4yo) and let me tell you five of the girls were in love with my husband (one told me she was going to take my husband and take him home and I woulld be sad) and some of the conversations I had with these kids were remarkable (like talking to teens).  Yes, some 4 yo are very advance.  My niece who is 4 yo questions why my husband and I don't have children.  No other child has asked that question. 

This doesn't surprise me like the 8 yo who shot his dad.  Kids are very advanced today.

I have no children myself. I have worked in day care and I have cousins with kids.

I have seen and heard the most developed stuff from kids and some not so good.

It depends on the parenting and co-parenting (pre-school/day care). They pick up what is said and fed to them.

I understand a child's personality is formed by 7. There should be a consequence, someone having a full discussion with this child.

What happened to picking up what ever was around and chucking it at someone, or I remember when the worst problem with a child was biting... now they go and get heat!!!!

=0

How many 4 yo have you been around?

Well, since I have a 6 yr old son and a 9 yr old daughter....hang on, let me do the math....that would be two!

Really? Well I was simply stating that kids today are capable of anything, regardless of age. 

 I was going to teach pre-K (4yo) and let me tell you five of the girls were in love with my husband (one told me she was going to take my husband and take him home and I woulld be sad) and some of the conversations I had with these kids were remarkable (like talking to teens). 

Children may say these things, but they don't FULLY comprehend the meaning.  I have a four year old who is very advanced, but she still does not truly understand about love and such.  She has an idea, an inkling.  But it's not the full knowledge she'll have as an adult.  They may talk like teens and they may seem to understand everything they're saying, but they don't have full comprehension. 

My whole issue with this shooting is what the heck is the shotgun doing in the closet fully loaded with a four year old in the house?  This is not what they teach you in gun safety!

Or that he has emotional issues that are just now manifestoing themselves.

truer words were never said...and it's very sad.

Let's see:
Teenagers
4 year old
Loaded weapons in home

What part of this scenario shouldn't be in the picture?

Wow.  Obviously a little kid shouldn't be able to get to a gun.  However, it disturbs me that when he got angry he went for the gun instead of just slapping the teenager who stepped on his foot, which IMO would be a more usual reaction for a kid.  Makes me think he had at least some concept that being shot would be worse than being slapped.

Also not sure that being watched by some teenagers with a bunch of other younger kids around is a very good environment.

There is nothing wrong with this boy.  There is something wrong with the parents.  He is only 4.  At this age he had no idea of what he was doing.  I have a 3 & a 5 year old and if I leave a loaded gun laying around I expect someone will get shot.

CY, no offense but yes the little girl in my class did know what she was saying.  Children today are advanced in ways that are totally unbelievable.  Let me give you another example, another girl in my class was singing I'm in love with a stripper.  I didn't like it and I told the teacher about it.  The teacher told me to send a note home with the child.  I did and the little girl would not speak to me because I had gotten her in trouble.  Let me give you yet another example.  I have a great - niece who is 4 yo. I babysat her and her brother last nite.  She had "styled" my hair and then went to style my husband's.  She asked what happened to his hair (he has a bald spot).  He told her that the hair fairy took it.  She went on and on about who is the hair fairy, what does he look like, have you seen him, etc.  She wouldn't let up.  this continued the whole night we were there.  And these were not one or two word baby questions, these were older kid questions. 

how many chirrens were stacked up in that mobile home with a loaded shotgun? sheesh -- I can hear the banjos playing Deliverance...

Yeah the poor Beave!

noted,

but what's the idea of your seed then? to hear people say "awful" or "how sad"?

ok: how awful!

leogodin, it is your seed, but I think vpstealth has a point... This article does give a platform to discuss gun control. Obviously the owners of the trailer aren't responsible gun owners. They equipped their young child with the knowledge of how to use a gun (it would seem), and moreover they left it loaded (I would assume) and with easy access for the child. I don't know the specifics of Ohio gun laws- but hey it makes a conversation.

Also I think the welfare of the child needs to be consider. Either he is seriously mentally disturbed, he is in an abusive envrionment, or both.

Mego, I agree discussion of gun control is a valid arguement but if you read vp's two posts, this was not his motive

Unless the laws have changed it is not illegal to have a loaded gun in your home in Ohio. However, stupid, seems to be appropriate here. 

Parental neglect, maybe abuse and for sure lack of proper supervision are all givens.  The parents are who should be charged in this one.  They have completely failed as parents and guardians and do not deserve any child. 

I don't think this is about gun control but rather allowing unqualified morons to reproduce.  Just like there needs to be better gun education that needs to be mandatory child rearing education.  As I have heard many times, there is no right way to raise a child but there damn sure are some wrong ones.

D DeMilo,

I agree with you, I think VP was being unnecessarily divisive in his comments.

Liam D- 

I agree the parents or adults responsible need to face consequences of some sort. Who in their right mind leaves a loaded shotgun in an unlocked location, readily available to a houseful  of children and teens? Or even just one child? This was a tragedy or accident waiting to happen. 

this was not his motive

Oh really?

Read post #13 - we're getting there....just wait and see.

WOW!

We're there!

Read #2.5

Keeping a loaded shotgun in the house...brilliant

what's the point of keeping a gun for protection if it is not loaded?

what's the point of keeping a gun for protection if it is not loaded?

What's the point in keeping a loaded gun within reach of children?

My friend at the NRA is tired of you MSM only showcasing four year olds who missuse firearms, what about the stories of responsible four year olds who have used firearms to thwartt violent crimes?

My friend at the NRA is tired of you MSM only showcasing four year olds who missuse firearms, what about the stories of responsible four year olds who have used firearms to thwartt violent crimes?

Are you freaking kidding???????

Do you mean, he or she (being the 4 year old) successfully shoots a criminal???

So that is ok with you, a child trained to fire a gun at a human being? Determine a situation that warrants use of a gun, where to shoot a person, shoot to kill or mame????

That is REALLY what you are proposing?

How desperate is the NRA these days????

LOL! I was being sarcastic

Too bad he wasn't around; he could have won himself a Dawin award...

I think he qualifies for one anyway.  The jury is still out, but I may have a spot for him in the imamoron.com.org.gov Museum of the Ignorant, Small-Minded and Ignoble!

He doesn't qualify for a Darwin award because he already managed to find someone just or dumber then him to reproduce with. I 'm amazed they figured it out.  I guess it's true even a blind squirrel finds a nut  every so often. 

Sounds like something out of "Calvin and Hobbes."

Living in a trailor does not mean stupid these days... check the economy.

Did you read the part of the story on the amount of "kids" in there... and how old the "babysitter" is.

That gun should have been locked up... period!

a gun firing has quite a kick........im surprised that baby wasn't shot backward into the wall or floor after firing that weapon.

That gun should not have been in the house at all. If you're going to keep firearms in your home at least have the common sense to keep it in a separate part of the house (ie garage, shed, etc.)

Living in a trailer park is no less a guarantee of anything good or bad as it is living in a gated community.

It's all the way one is raised and foundation you have from that experience that guarantees anything.

Obviously, that child is already exhibiting anger issues warrants being looked into.

I haven't figures out how he could physically shoot it, but apparently he did. Go figure.

I remember my dad telling stories of his youth. He carried a shot gun to school as young as 1st grade. He shot supper on the way home, it was common in rural areas back then. My point is, if a young child is taught how to use a shotgun, it is likely not all that difficult to do.

There should be consequences for the child and the parents for allowing a gun to be available to a child who is not mature enough to understand what it will do (or maybe he did understand, just as my dad did way back then).

The child very obviously has anger issues ALREADY! We can not sit around and wonder why or how. Someone must act and act quickly or he will be a killer, literally, in kindergarten, unfortunately the only someone who can deal with this child is the law.

I am not saying he should be tried as an adult or even as a juvenile but he should be shown the horrors of what he has done and what the horrors of those actions will lead to down the road. He needs to have the pants scared right off of him. Then put with a foster family who will actually love the little guy to death.

There ya go.. the thoughts of a gun loving Republican.

They breed because we, as a society, allow them to.

It's hard work being a parent and people who are not up to it should not be allowed to do it. I'm not saying both parents need an IQ of 150+ but there needs to be forced birth control until maturity as defined by (hey, 4 real, this would be a good job for you) level headed, not too far left or right pros has been attained.

It would be a scary society that would do that....

Unfortunately, it is an idea I have been thinking longingly on. The pitiful excuse for parents I see in my life and neighborhood.

There is also a problem with CPS going overboard on lack of proper discipline.I think there is more missing to the story.

I wish I could have seen that interview.

What exactly is wrong with living in a trailer?

I've seen some of those built in the past 15 years or so, they are very nice, well insulated, roomy, not a bad option for people who can 't afford what most new homes cost these days.

dixiedi- Thank you for not judging someone based on where they live!

I chose to buy a trailer, rather than rent an apartment when I first started out. I worked for eight years saving up to buy a house with property. I was making very good money and doing great, until I became sick and could no longer work. I am able to make it because I don't have massive mortgage payments like my friends do.

Some look down their noses at people that live in trailer parks. I live within my means, and this bad economy is not hurting my llife much.

I lived in one for 3 years just before my parents split up. I was 5-8 years old. It was wonderful. I had my own room. There were 3 good size bedrooms. Kitchen seperate from the Living Room. The bathroom was huge. We were able to fit a full size freezer and washing machine (complete with a crank "spin dryer"...squeeze out the water)

Back yard and front had full size garden. We lived on a farm. Awesome!

When my mom left, she took us all to the city, a ghetto like area now. Yuck!!!

I would trade.

Joe Veteran - thank you.  That is what I have been saying that children may look all innocent, but a lot of them know more than we did a that.  I'm 39 and my parents did not curse in front of me.  (I have older parents).  I have heard lots of stuff out of the mouths of my nieces, nephews and especially the great nieces and nephews.  I just shake my head when I hear that.