If I see an adult spanking a child in public and have a witness, do I have good reason to call the police?

Question

I recently saw a 3 year old girl being spanked a few times at Sears for getting lost. Poor thing, she was already freaked out from getting lost. I think a little painless swat is "ok" but slap, slap, slap on the butt and then verbal abuse was just too much to bear to watch. I didn't call the police but am wondering if I should have.

so I guess the answer is to let them spank and hope they follow it up with TLC. I am still torn because I imagine if we saw a defenseless adult (i.e. a handicapped person) being slapped or spanked in public then wouldn't we call the cops? I don't see the difference. I do realize kids need strong discipline. My mom did her spanking with her "looks"----she was an awesome mom!!! I wish all parents had her ways and wisdom.

Answer 1

You should have called the police...or atleast gotten security. You did the right thing by being concerned. There is no excuse to beat your child for getting lost. For one thing, she was 3 and her mother is to blame for the child being lost. If that ever happens again, please make a scene for people to be aware of the problem and get help immediately. That is child abuse what that mother was doing. It wasn't her fault that her mother was an idiot and didn't keep an eye on her. And for anyone who said to mind your own business, that is what the problem with this world is. Everyone wants to point fingers when the child ends up dead, but no one wants to do anything about it. By the way, it is illegal to beat your child in public or anywhere else for that matter.

Answer 2

Spanking is no more than a few controlled swats with an open hand. If that was all it is, then you really shouldn't butt in and the police would not do anything about it. But verbal abuse is not appropriate. It's not really illegal, but certainly not considered a good way to parent. I would definitely give a parent a dirty look if they were saying something truly awful and hurtful to their child (not just chastising them).

Beating a child is another matter. If the child was being hit violenty and repeatedly, or being whipped with an object, that would be grounds for calling the cops.

Answer 3

Perhaps you should continue along these lines: BUTT OUT. Unless you actually see the child being ABUSED, it is none of your business. No one is telling you how to raise your brats, why do you feel you are so qualified to tell someone else how to raise theirs?

If you honestly felt that strongly about it you should have spoken to the parent. Perhaps this has happened before, perhaps the child was horrible that day. You have no idea what circumstances led up to this and you have no idea what other situations have occurred.

People need to stop inserting their noses where they do not belong!!

Additional Details:

Regardless of who it is being slapped, until you know the situation and circumstances, it is NOT right to call the cops. The first and only course of action you should take is to investigate further.

I was spanked, regularly, as a child. I grew up knowing precisely what is right and wrong. I have not been arrested. I am a decent, moral, up-standing citizen. I honestly feel that spanking has a lot to do with that. Again, it isn't about you simply walking away and allowing abuse to happen. It is about being certain you have all the facts before making a life-altering phone call.

Cathy: HUGE diff between "beating" and spanking. Sounds to me like someone needs an education in definitions.

Answer 4

Thats just meddling in other peoples affairs. If it was just three pats on the butt thats nothing but standard child rearing to the majority of the non pussified world. Spare the rod, spoil the child. Not only do they grow up derelict with no respect, but they're a pain in their parents as s. For some rare kids a verbal warning and the threat of sitting in the corner works, but they are the exception, not the rule. They usually don't need spankings often when they get older if they learn to fear them when they're young, and since they're young they don't need to be hard for them to feel the intended emotional response, which is, listen to your parents.

Answer 5

It is not child abuse or against the law to spank your child in public. In the situation you saw I would say that was just very bad parenting but not illegal. The police would not have done anything and children's services would do even less. Sad that this parent thought she needed to spank. I do believe in spanking when needed but in rare cases. I think I have spanked each of my children maybe five times and I have to say they are really good kids. I don't need them to be afraid of me to get them to listen. I do think that lack of discipline is part of the problem in this world though!

Answer 6

I don't go for the verbal abuse, but kids don't just "get lost" in a major store. They deliberately wander off, looking at stuff. In this day and age, with so many predators lurking in the aisles of department stores, it is a matter of the child's safety to have them learn to stay with the parent. I would rather see a thousand spankings than see one child abducted by a psycho. If the parent drew blood or left marks, call the cops. Otherwise, realize that that spanking may have just saved the child's life.

Answer 7

Seems to me the parent responded out of fright, not anger. Maybe next time the child will stay close and remember what happened last time. The verbal abuse WAS over the top though. Good question !

Answer 8

I don't know if I would have spanked her for getting lost. If she would have ran off on purpose then I would have spanked her. Its hard not to say something when you see someone doing something you would not do, but they did nothing illegal.I fmore people spanked their children we would have more well behaved children.

Answer 9

It's called discipline, it's not like she was getting pounded unreasonably. I've had worse done to me as a child for disobeying my father. If you had called the police they would have told you to mind your own business.

Answer 10

I think the parent was not thinking when they spanked their child for getting lost. Not to defend the parent but, I am sure they reacted to being scared their child had gone missing. But, I report incidents if I feel the need. I wasn't there, if you felt you should have I am sure you were in the right.