Principal threatens sexual harassment charges over 9-year-old’s love note

By Amy Graff on November 12, 2015 at 1:24 PM

Photo By Getty/Moment Open

A 9-year-old-boy was threatened with sexual harassment by a school principal after writing a love note. (MomentOpen/ Getty)

Roses are red. Violets are blue.

Since when did childish love notes become something not to do?

An unnamed 9-year-old Florida boy found himself in the principal’s office this month after confessing his feelings in a “love note.”

The mother, who isn’t sharing her name with media, told ABC Action News that her son commented on his fondness for the girl’s uniform that she wears everyday and her eyes that “sparkle like diamonds.”

Other students at the school in Hillsborough allegedly got wind of the letter’s contents and teased the girl, saying the boy wanted to see her naked.

This trickled down to the principal who called the boy’s mother and threatened sexual harassment charges if the boy wrote another note.

The mother is outraged as she thinks her son’s note was innocent and she’s sharing the story with the media. “My 9-year-old doesn’t even know what sexual harassment means,” she told ABC Action News.

The school district claims the boy wrote multiple notes and the girl felt harassed.

What do you think? Should a love letter be considered sexual harassment?

If a flurry of sweet-nothings is making someone uncomfortable, it’s important to have a discussion about setting boundaries. Kid crushes are part of growing up and generally benign, but when they do become problematic they offer educators and parents opportunities for teaching moments that encourage healthy future relationships. Telling the boy to stop if the notes were making the girl uncomfortable and leading to teasing is appropriate. Labeling an innocent love note as sexual harassment is extreme and unnecessary and indicative of our society that’s increasingly criminalizing innocent parts of child.

Tags: love notes