So yea, I'm confused as to how they are writing this off as just a tragic accident and noone is being punished in anyway. The parents or the kids. Even with the kid that was in the shopping cart that died, he did it willingly and his friends were still held responsible for his death. These kids buried their friends head in the sand willingly or unwillingly and watched him struggle and die because of something they saw on TV. So the next kid that grabs a knife or a gun or something b/c they saw someone on tv not get hurt by it then what happens? They should at least do some time in juvy or something. Or parents get neglect charges for not informing their kids that oxygen is needed to survive. I dunno, I just don't get how noone can be punished. next thing you know they'll end up suing the sandbox company..

My impression was that the kids were pretty young but I don't feel like rereading the article to find out. Assuming that the parents definitely should be held criminally responsible for neglect as up to a certain point you shouldn't leave your kids unwatched. (that point being 10-12 maybe?)

I think they were all around 10-12 but if they're trying to say that they were old enough so that parents didn't have to watch over them then I believe they were old enough to know what they were doing.

Well most of my experience with kids comes from a very long time ago when I was one since I haven't had any yet.

At the risk of sounding old: In MY day we kids didn't do things that stupid. If Fred Flinstone bonked the bank robbers on the head with a huge rock we only pretended to bonk our friends with a rock or perhaps with something more plasticy.

Then again I don't know how you pretend to get buried in a sandbox, just don't do it kids!

As for 11 y/o going to juvy... I don't really see the advantage in that. Keep the kids in school and use their guilt to put them in their place, the oldschool way.

My parents were great at dishing out guilt and spankings and kept me in line just fine. Today's parents are too soft :P I'm going to spank my kids all the way to child services if thats what it takes to teach them how not to grow up to be an asshat...

Seriously? You think 10-11 year old kids should go to prison for poor judgement? They didn't do anything maliciously, they were messing around, their friend got hurt - and as soon as they realized he was in trouble they unburied him and got help. Obviously they aren't the brightest bulbs, but they aren't criminals.

Every kid knows that knives hurt, so if they see someone stab another on a cartoon they're not likely to try it themselves.

I DON'T think these kids should be punished any more than they are punishing themselves for possibly killing their friend (well, if their parents want to ground them for not thinking that's fine).

I also DON'T think their parents should be held accountable. When a kid is 11 or 12, s/he is old enough to look after other, younger kids. How could you charge a parent for neglect for this? Are you implying that a parent should be at a kid's side at all times, so that if something does happen to the kid the parent's there??

They also unburied their friend when they realized he was in trouble, and I think that shows that they aren't dangerous criminal kiddies.

I'm calling this an accident, and I sincerely hope nobody is punished over it.

Not prison.. but theres lots of kids that age or younger that are in Juvy for things that didn't result in death.. just b/c it was an accident dones't mean there wasn't someone responsible. If it would have happened at a school there would be wayy more consenquences. or if each of the kids had been from different parents. I dunno.. I jsut don't think they should be allowed to grow up thinkin that they can do that and get away with it b/c they're young. That reminds me of the kid in australia that went on the crime spree and was arrested and let go like 20 times.. I know thats far fetched but its hot in here and i'm sweating and yea.. i'm reaching out trying to defend my belief that someone should be punished.

Well if the kid is old enough to look after other kids and doesn't need supervision then how did this happen. They should also be smart enough to know that they can bury someone head and cut off air flow to them. If they didn't know this simple thing then obviously they werent old enough to be left unsupervised. Or we could go with the darwin theory and say anyone who sticks his head in the ground and buries it willingy doesn't deserve to reprodusce anyways.. I dunno.. I just can't belive that if someone is struggling and fight to breathe that you'd think they were joking scpecially if you can't see they're head. even if you are 10.

Does anyone remember that Beavis and Butthead eposide where they go out to fly a kite because they heard Ben Franklin did it and everyone made a fuss about people imitating stupid things they've seen on TV? No? Yes? After your time? Before your time?

I don't think these kids should be punished. They are just kids, and if they are going to be punished for this, it ought to only come from their parents.

They may have killed their cousin by playing a stupid game. How many of us played stupid/dangerous games as a kid?

I don't see playing "bury me!!" as being much more stupid or dangerous than "who is brave enough to jump from the highest part of the tree" or "who can swim out to the ice and back." I'd hate to think the cops and the justice system will get involved for kids being stupid kids.

I also don't think the parents should be charged with neglect. By the time you're 10, you should be able to think for youself when it comes to situations like this. How old should a child be before constant parent supervision is no longer necessary? I think 10 or 11 is old enough.

They shouldn't do prison time, but definately some form of punishment should be issued. We can't just let them get off scott free because they are kids, that's like saying "it's okay that this happened, it's not a big deal, you're just a kid."

Letting them go without a punishment of any type sends a very distinct message to the kids involved; that message is that what they did was okay. And clearly it is not okay.

Do they feel guilty about what happened? Sure. But is that guily punishment enough? I don't think so. They need to learn that there are serious consequences to their actions. We can't just pat them on the shoulders and tell them that everything is okay. Everything is not okay. Just ask the parents of the victims about how okay everything is.

I'm on the fence about this... on one hand they were idiots, and should have thought through their actions, but on the other hand they're still kids, and knowing that their actions lead to the death of another child will probably weigh on them for the rest of their lives. If they are truly remorseful, I think the guilt they are going to have forever is enough punishment. If they aren't taking this seriously then they should be made to do community service with children who have problems due to oxygen deprivation, or something related to what the boy would have gone through, had he lived.

Kids will be kids, and accidents will happen.

My brother broke my collarbone when we were kids. I was lying under a pile of pillows with my shoulders exposed. He missed the pile and the bone broke clear through the skin. We were playing in our basement, so it wasn't a case of neglect and it wasn't a malicious attack.

These kids will always have their guilt, I'm guessing something like that never goes away. Punishing them seems unnecessary.

I have to disagree with you. We're not talking about six or seven year old kids here who didn't understand what would happen if they buried their friend. We're talking about 10-12. These kids are at a point in their lives where they are capable of understanding the difference between right and wrong. This wasn't "whoops, I fell on him and broke his neck" (accidental death), this was "Let's bury his head in the sand." Unless they are mentally handicapped, these kids knew that it would be impossible to breathe under sand.

Not punishing them, and just letting their guilt be punishment enough, is going to send a very shakey message to these kids. It's okay to do stupid crap like this, because they're just kids and mistakes happen. They need to do some time, serve some sort of sentence; even if it's something as simple as 'community time' like draft suggested.

And whatever adult failed to check on the kids needs to face some time as well.

I think you're giving them too much credit - also it's not like he was buried against his will. Don't you think HE would have known if not being able to breath under sand is so obvious to children that age? I think you're assuming too much from kids of that age.


Just because something bad happened does not mean someone needs to be punished.

Really? I bet every parent has left their child alone long enough for them to get in serious trouble, because they think nothing bad can happen in x situation. The vast majority of times the child is fine, but why should we punish the parents whose children were injured... it's just bad luck on their part (especially in this case).

Yes he definately should have known better. And the other kids should have known better. Someone in that group should have known better. Someone in that group had to have known better.

Bad things that happen and result in death should require some sort of punishment. Even accidents.

I think you're assuming to little of children of that age.

I bet you're right (for the most part - I have left my child alone in another room while I took a quick leak or got her a drink). I also bet that in the cases where something really bad happened, death for instance, the parents were charged with child neglect.

I'll also bet that someone gets charged with that out of this case.