how should a mother /parent react when a stranger yell and hit your child in public?

Question

last week i went out with my son( who is 2yrs and 2months) to the bank. It was busy so i decided to go to the teller machine instead.Between making that 10 seconds decision my son had ran off to the next machine(which was 100cm).... next thing i knew a grunt ..."GO AWAY" ...."YOU GO AWAY!!!" from a woman at next auto teller machine,so i assumed my son may have interrupt her so i called out for him. BUt my son didnt come and so the cried "GO AWAY ....."grew to a scream continues. then at this point i turned and saw the woman slapping my son's hand with a piece of paper..not once but several times,i immediately turn to asked her why she did that,she said he was playing with the buttons while she was trying to make her transaction.then i told her, he's only2yrs and questioned her intelligence for yelling and hitting a 2yrs old. then she yelled that she had a very important transaction to made,(without even looking at me,she yelled and continues hitting the keypad on the machine!!!!)then

a guy came close to me and asked me to move away, it took me a couple of seconds to figure out that they were together.
i am so MAD,piping mad at this point...its unbelievable how could a stranger could be so RUDE to a child to another stranger's child.she even went on to labelled me a "bad mother " coz i let him run around!
I really snapped and lost it,and starts to scream back at her!(including calling her a b****)
even right now as i relate this to you i am still shaken and am still angry at them, and also ashamed that i stooped to their level of rudeness by doing the same. it was so ugly,and it affected my son so much during the madness that he just stood there and cried, i didnt realized till i someone pointed out to me.......how should one react to this and ...REaally

0 seconds ago

its in shopping mall, n it happens 5sec at most she could turn to me as i m only next to her and my son was standing tip toe next to her on the other side....

Answer 1

The woman was definately wrong for hitting your son with the paper. I don't think you're a bad mom, but you definately have to be more responsible with your son in public places. He needs to know (yes, even at 2 years old) that there are times when he has to stand still. There are crazy people in the world and lucky for you and your son, the woman did not seriously hurt him. You said you only turned for 10 seconds, but sometimes that's all it takes for someone to pick up a child and disappear with them. Also you lead by example. You should have appologized to the lady while you were in the bank. Then put your son in the car and tell him he was wrong and explain what his punishment would be (time out etc). Once the lady and her buddy came out of the bank ,You should have put a smile on your face ( for your son's benefit of course, because he's probably watching you from the car) and told them (for their ears only because it's noone else's business) if you ever run into either one of them again in a dark alley you will be sure to bash both their f#%^&n heads in, and they need to be glad that you're a F*^%$n lady that knows how to act in public because that's the only thing that just saved both of their miserable @$$ lives. Then told them to enjoy the rest of their day and got back in your car and left.

Answer 2

If she was slapping his hand with a piece of paper, I would hardly call that hitting. This lady was obviously either having a really bad day or she's just a miserable woman. Although I could see why your first instinct was to react the way you did, I think the best thing to do would have to just have gone over to get your son, say a simple "I'm sorry" and go on about your business. It's not always worth getting all worked up about things like this.... I mean this was a crabby stranger who you probably never will see again and hours later you are still thinking about it and bothered by it.
I think the way you reacted may also teach your child to be hyper-sensitive. Teach him instead that although there are times you have to stand up for yourself, there are also a lot of times when it's better to just let something roll off your back and go on with your day. This is the age where kids really start observing their parents and how they handle situations.

Answer 3

You should react with a bit of indignity and take your kid and walk away. When you get in the privacy of your own home, think about what happened. Your son WAS A BOTHER. But the person didn't hurt him, and maybe even helped you be a good mom. Enforce the fact that your son should stay away from strangers because they might not be so nice if there is a next time (think about it!). Make a blessing out of it and thank God nothing worse than that happened. Bet your son will a better man for it in the long run.

Answer 4

For next time, I would try and keep a better eye on your son. But I don't think a random stranger should hit a kid, even gently. I agree with a previous poster, tell that woman that she has no right to hit your baby and that if she has a problem, she answers to the one that has a full vocabulary and a bit of sense.

Answer 5

I feel your pain. I don't have kids but reading this made me upset too. I think you reacted the way most people would. I cannot believe this woman even touched your child I don't care if he bit her on the ankle and peed on her shoe. No one has the right to strike a 2 year old child. What the heck is going on. Try to shake it off and just be thankful you never have to see this freak show again. Good luck

Answer 6

She should not have hit him but you should not have let him run around. You are to control your children and not let them disturb others. You are questioning her intelligence when you let a two year old wander away in public? She was right to question your mothering skills.You should not take your eyes off of him in public. Anyone could grab him and be gone before you know it. He could have caused the machine to keep her card and further inconvenience her. You are blaming her for being upset when it would upset most people. Take responsibility for your child and his actions.

Answer 7

I have a 2 yr old son too and i would react the same way. NO ONE has the right to touch your son but you. That lady better thank God you didnt knock her out!

Answer 8

You should've gone and retrieved him, not stood there calling for him while he pestered others. You don't allow your kids to run loose in public and expect others to be tolerant of it. They shouldn't be out of arm's reach at that age. However, she had no right to raise her voice at him or swat him with anything. She should've said "excuse me, please come and get your child." If she had any words to exchange, it should've been with you, not him. You may have gone off the deep end but many mothers would've. Oh well, who cares, you'll probably never see her again!

Answer 9

Well...I would give her a piece of my mind.