How far is too far when it comes to disciplining children?
Last month, Antonia Antoinette Folsom, 34, was arrested after being accused of forcing her 13-year-old son to sleep outside of her Augusta, Georgia home on a concrete patio. According to WJBF, the mother of four refused to let the teen into her home on the night of Monday, May 27 because he repeatedly stayed out past curfew. Officers responded to the home around 1:30 p.m. the following Tuesday after the boy called and told them that he had been locked out of the home since 9:15 p.m. that Monday.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office says that the teen’s curfew was 9:00 p.m. “but he did not come home on time. When he arrived home the doors were locked and his mother, the subject, would not allow him into the residence even after he knocked multiple times. She came to the door and told him that she was tired of him coming home late and for him to find somewhere else to go. She kept all of the doors as well as windows locked so that he could not get in the residence.”
At some point Monday night, police say that the teen’s older brother snuck outside and “gave him a pillow and blanket without his mother’s permission.” He claims that he “continued to knock on the door with no response and was forced to sleep on the concrete patio in the back yard.”
When deputies arrived at the home Tuesday, the boy’s older brother told them that the teen “had come home late and was locked out of the residence for breaking curfew, and that the subject would not let him in even after he knocked on the door numerous times and spoke to her briefly. He also added that the victim told his mother that he was having trouble breathing and she told him ‘Now you know how I feel’ and refused to allow him in.” Folsom returned from work Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. and told investigators that she had not seen or heard from her son since Monday night. She reportedly told police that she had instructed her son to come inside of the house around 11 p.m., but he ignored her and left.
The Georgia Department of Family and Children’s Services was notified of the incident. Folsom’s children were turned over to the grandmother. Folsom was arrested and charged with Deprivation of a Minor. Since her may arrest, mothers in the August area gave joined forces in support of Folsom, who they say is a great mother who made the right decision concerning her troubled son. A Go Fund Me page has also been set up to assist with Folsom’s legal fee’s
“When you have one that’s out of control and you’re trying to keep him from getting in trouble with the law or going out and committing a crime or either getting killed, you do everything you can to go out of your way to keep them safe,” Folsom’s sister Gena Archer told WRDW.
According to neighbor and supporter Charlene Anderson, the teen has been giving his mother problems for a while now.
“It’s like twice a week I know that the police are being called because he’s being disobedient. He’s a runaway, and all this is in the system, but she still gets locked up,” Anderson said.
The local news station reports that the teen has been in trouble at school for incidents of bullying, fighting and cursing at adults. Archer says that her sister has tried to get help for the teen on multiple occasions but has been told by the police department that there is nothing that they can do unless he gets into trouble.
Moms, how would you react in a situation like this? Do you believe that Folsom was wrong for allegedly locking her son out of her home?
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