Amber and Michael TilleyA Texas school has recently come under fire for an incident in which two school officials forcibly bathed a third grade boy at school. A counselor reportedly told him he "smelled badly, was dirty, and had bad hygiene," and then marched him to the school nurse's office where they took it into their own hands to remedy the problem.
According to NBCDFW, his parents say the 8-year-old was forced to strip naked, then they "began violently washing his body." His parents, Amber and Michael Tilley, are suing, and while I hope the school officials are punished for what was clearly wrong behavior, it's the boy at the center of it all for whom my heart breaks in so many ways.
First, it's tragic that he was ever in such a situation that his body odor would be called into question. I have an 8-year-old boy, and let me tell you, they get smelly fast, and they have no clue. That's why his father and I insist that he bathes regularly, even if he balks. It's our job as parents to make sure he learns good hygiene, and if you're not getting close enough to your kid to know if he's practicing it or not, that's a problem in and of itself. So the fact that this boy was going to school in a manner that clearly was offensive is incredibly sad, and you have to wonder about his home environment, even if they claim he had no problem.
Then, of course, there's the trauma he surely endured from being not only forced to stand naked in front of school officials, but from being told he stinks. The situation could have been handled in so many other, better ways. As it was, the parents reportedly were never notified that there was a problem. Michael Tilley told the station:
The first thing I said was, "You ought to try to call us." And they said, "We were trying to avoid him being embarrassed." And I said, "You all did a real good job of helping that process along."
The humiliation he must have felt is unimaginable. His parents say it's affected the boy greatly, and I can't imagine that it wouldn't. Amber Tilley said: "He just kept on and on, wanting to take baths. You know, he just felt so disgusting."
The case is now in the court's hands, where they'll decide if the family is awarded any money. I'm not sure any amount is worth dragging this trauma out for the boy, which a court case surely does. I truly hope he's able to get the help he needs to deal with what's happened.
Can you imagine any case in which a school should forcibly bathe a child?
Image via NBCDFW
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Comments 31
Punishment: get school officials to strip naked and bathe in the town square.
Oy! I don't even kow what to say. This had to have been incredible humiliating for this little boy. It's sad that the school felt the need to step in to bathe this child. I honestly can't say if I think what the school did was wrong or not. I hope they had the boys best interest at heart and just did what they thought needed to be done. Had they tried to contact the parents about this?
Um, I'm going to withold judgement pending further information.
Of course what they did was wrong!!! They should have contacted the parents and if that still didn't work, they should have contact CPS. No adult that is not related to a child has the right to strip them of their clothes and rub there hands over their body. PERIOD!!! That school nurse and counselor both needs to be fired.
There is no excuse other than to help save his life/health, like if he were covered in poision ivy or those flesh eating ants or something, where they should force him to take his clothes off.
If they were that worried, they should have called CPS.
Wow! The very thought that these "adults" felt they had a right to strip this boy and bathe him because they felt he smelled is atrocious. I have an 8 yr old son and I can assure you he would have died of humiliation if someone did this to him. I hope the parents pursue a court case and get a judgement that will fund this child's education until he graduates college at a private school. Not to mention the "adults" that did the bathing should make a public apology and pay out of their own pocket for his therapy to overcome his humiliation.
I remember being in grade school (in a very small, poor town) and there were several children coming to school who were dirty and smelled bad....But nothing was ever done. Im not even sure they ever even contacted the parents, which is a damn shame. This child shouldnt have been put in a situation where he "smelled bad" to begin with. If it was such a problem, contact the parents! How would anyone EVER EVER think it was a good idea to strip naked and bathe some one elses child!?
Does this amount to molestation at all? at the very least, it's assault... they had NO right to do this to this child.
If this story is true, kind of sketchy on details, then yes the teacher/administrators should be fired but how about taking a look at the parents and see what is going on at the home that would cause him to smell bad enough that they thought they had to handle it?