Grandma: Teacher Used Duct Tape to Stop 5 Year Old's Thumb Sucking

BARNESVILLE, Ga. - A Lamar County woman says a teacher went too far when she taped her granddaughter’s thumbs together in an effort to get her to stop sucking them. Faye Buckner says a teacher at the Lamar County Primary School used duct tape on her 5-year-old granddaughter’s thumbs.

”She said don't put your thumb in your mouth cause that's nasty, said Alaza Bird, explaining what she says her teacher told her.

The 5 year old says her thumbs were wrapped in duct tape on Wednesday during her Pre-K music class at Lamar County Primary School.

Alaza’s grandmother, Faye Buckner says the child was very upset about the situation after school. Buckner says Alaza told her the teacher tied her thumbs with duct tape because she didn’t want to hear the child sucking her thumbs.

According to Buckner, Alaza has always sucked her thumbs, but she seems more compelled to do so since her mother, Army Sgt. Mendez Ogletree, was deployed to Iraq for a year back in August.

”We tried to break her habit before her mom left, but we stopped because that's her source of comfort, said Buckner.

Buckner says she contacted the principal on Thursday moing to see if Alaza’s story was actually true.

”I said, don’t tell me it happened, and she said, ‘It did,’ said Buckner, explaining her call to the school. Buckner says the school says the teacher was trying to help her stop sucking her thumb.

”I never asked her to help me stop her from thumb sucking, said Buckner.

Georgia Newsday spoke to the principal at the school. She described the incident as an inappropriate violation, and said an investigation is under way. The principal said she was not authorized to discuss whether the teacher would be disciplined.

”I guess I’m outraged, but I’m also sympathetic because I wonder if she knew any better, said Buckner. ”You really don’t want anybody to lose their jobs, but that was wrong.

Bruner also spoke to Sgt. Ogletree on Thursday evening by phone. She says she is angry about what happened to her daughter, and she too has spoken to the school’s principal about the situation.

Sgt. Ogletree said she will feel better when she leas more about what happened and why.

The investigation has been tued over to the superintendent’s office.