Can I vent?? I am SO saddened by this....?

Question

More like angry. My husband and I are at the pharmacy- another couple with a two year old adorable little boy also were waiting. The boy is shining a cute smile at us- and I say Hi to him, mom snatches him up and slams him in a chair. He cries. Mom tells him to shut the F*** up or shes going to kick his teeth down his throat! IN PUBLIC!! The dad says NOTHING!! And shes pregnant! I wanted to snatch the kid from her and RUN!!

My husband wanted to say something- but didn't.

I did not get plate#, did not call CPS or the police. Now I am upset with myself too.....

Someone misunderstood- she did nto kick him in the teeth- it was a threat vocally to the boy.

Captain Random: You couldn't be more wrong. I amnot a soccer mom, I don't "THUMP" the Bible- I READ it. Nor am I a horrible person. I do not care who is dong what in thier HOME uless it involves an child who is not able to defend themselves at all against an angry mother who evidently has NO patience left. Somehow millions of mother FIND patience without having to talk to a 2 year old like that. So- I don't give a rip what "happened during the day" NO ONE should EVER say that to a child. period.

Answer 1

If a person behaves that way in public, where the presence of others might have a restraining effect, their behavior at home is probably worse. If you don't feel able to speak to the parent(s), make an effort to get their license number and call the appropriate agency in your state. The child's life may depend on it.
If you do speak to the parent, try to do so in a non-judgmental way. "Can I help you?" or "Is there a problem?" when asked in a concerned way are more likely to help the parent realize what they're doing. Most of us have had moments when are kids really "push our buttons" so it helps to remember that when speaking to someone who has lost control of themselves. I don't mean that we excuse child abuse, but the goal is to stop the abuse, not judge the parent.

One other thing you might want to consider. When I see a child in public, I speak to the parent rather than to the child. "Your little boy is adorable" or something like that. It's sad, but parents have to teach their children not to talk to strangers, so I don't speak to the child first. I do not say this to imply that your greeting justified that mom's behavior, though--nothing justifies that.

Answer 2

The sad part is that there are more people like that out in the world than you know or even can imagine. You have to have a license to drive a car, be a nurse, take an x-ray, even to teach, but no one has to have a license to have a child. Sometimes as parents we get frustrated with our children but not like that. People who want to adopt or become a foster parent have to interview and all that but the rest of us don't. I have seen things that I wish I never had. There are people out there that shouldn't be parents and yet they keep having kids like there's no tomorrow. Meanwhile, those parents are abusing (physically, mentally, emotionally) their children and social services does nothing. They investigate the people that are not doing this and leave the others alone. There is something seriously wrong with this. Next time you see this, say a little prayer for the child, I do and I hope it helps. They really need it.

Answer 3

I know how you feel. I work at a bank and a customer came in with her two children and we have a little people table with books and puzzels and he was really excited that he put this puzzel together (he couldn't be more than 2-3 years old) and he was kinda loud but we didn't mind... well the mother did and she came running over and hit the kid so hard in the back that he kina flew into the little table and started crying.. well then she smacked him so hard in the butt because he was crying.. i just feel so horrible when I see things like that.. what do parents expect out of a 2 year old? to be saints? It makes me want to cry to hear stories about little kids getting abused.. I wish the world was better!

Answer 4

Disappointing behavior, definitely.

What if she had just cooked hubby a really nice meal, and discovered he was cheating on her while she is pregnant and full of hormones?

A hypothetical, sure, but if you don't know this family, then you are only seeing a very brief snapshot.

Did the child have marks? Did he cower, expecting abuse?

If you are really concerned, you might ask someone in the pharmacy about it and go to child protective services. The pharmacy people may not be allowed to say much because of new regulations on medical privacy.

Proposing to adopt their son then and there would have been amusing.

Answer 5

Go back to that pharmacist. Find out when that pharmacist is working again, and find out if she witnessed it. Confirm what she saw. Did you see her reaction? If she witnessed it, she may have made a note of it and knows the name and phone number etc. Tell her that you believe that was child abuse and you'd like to report it.

As for the person who has knowledge of a three year old boy getting beat up, why on earth haven't you done anything about it yet? He had a black eye, which was confirmed abuse by the parent. What the h*** is it going to take? Step up to the plate!

Answer 6

There are so many people out there that hurt their children repeatively. There are some parents that blow their top on day. No matter what that circumstance was That pure boy. Not only are they hurting that boy now but what kind of role model are displaying for that child. I yell some times at my son but not like that and I would never slam into a chair or cuse at him. That poor boys is all I can think of.

Answer 7

By law if the pharmacist saw it she has to report it (so i think) Chances are if she is that physically/verbally abusive in public than you can only imagine how abusive she is behind closed doors. I don't know if anything can be done now. But if the pharmacist saw it then he/she would know the names of the women or her husband by the name on the prescription. They could then report her. Also if the store has video camera's to back up your story then it would help.

Answer 8

that is heartbreaking. i definitely would have followed them out and gotten their license number if you're suburban. then, i would have reported her to the police for child abuse, called cps, and asked others at the pharmacy to be witnesses.

in fact, you would not have been out of line to immediately saw outloud that you want a manager because this mother was assaulting her child.

i recently saw a mom punch her 10 year old in the face because he was holding a pizza box wrong. i was in the car next to hers. i sat there staring at her and when she asked me what my problem was, i said i just wanted to stay here until everyone calmed down. well, she started screaming profanities at me and her kid, i backed out and called the police. she started following me! tho i wanted to keep her with me, my son was with me, so when i had a chance to lose her at a light, i did. they took her license number from me, but i'm sure they did nothing.

i can only hope that some good came to the kid by seeing that some adults thought what his mom did was wrong.

Answer 9

Wow. People can be so cruel.
Now I am mad because people on here are making you feel guilty for not snatching someone else's child. (in the US we call this kidnapping) And they say things like "I would call CPS". Do not feel bad.
Just go home and hug your child/children a little tighter tonight!

Answer 10

Can I vent?? This is SO pathetic. You are horrible. It is none of your business how they raise THEIR child. You are probably one of the individuals who calls the cops when you hear a noise from your neighbors home claiming that someone is being assaulted when your neighbors are actually just engaged in rough sex.
I'm picturing a bible thumping soccer mom. Whispering in the pharmacy to her husband about the "unfit" mother. For all you know the little b@$$t@rd was acting uncouth all day and you caught the tail end of the show.