Disturbing.

[Stocka]

Tonight I saw a woman beating up a young child outside a shopping centre (I assume it was her own child). When I say "beating up", I don't mean merely smacking the child, but rather, bashing the child (and the child's head) into a car and hitting and slapping the child as well. Of course, this was accompanied by very abusive yelling, a lot of which would make a football crowd look like a tea-party by comparison.

Worse still, was that when confronted, the woman and another female friend both tried to justify their behaviour and became extremely abusive towards myself and a security guard who attempted to intervene. I guess this is not surprising, however, the fact that they seem to feel vindicated in their actions, despite the degree of violence, disturbed me quite a lot.

The child would have been no older than 3 or 4 (at the very most). Given that the child seemed to be screaming quite loudly before hand, I assume that there must have been some sort of issue to bring the parent to a high level of annoyance. However, given the scenes that followed, I wouldn't be surprised if the parent had a hand in originally bringing the child to such a distraught state.

This wasn't just a case of a parent maybe taking things a little too far, or losing their temper just a little too much. It wasn't a case of a "smack" coming off too hard due to a strained temperament. It was a case of serious physical abuse. The woman had totally lost the plot. She was incapable of seeing that her actions were WAY out of line, and I doubt she had even thought or cared for the consequences in a worsened scenario.

I can't believe that such scumbags exist. People talk of terrorists, who facelessly wreak havoc on others. However, I tend to think that the people who I saw tonight are of an even lower scum. How could anyone, no matter what the circumstances, beat up such a young child, and then turn around and try to justify themselves and abuse those who try to intervene? How could anyone believe that belting a child, so young, senseless as being a suitable solution to behavioural problems? And these people still think they are good parents? Hasn't 'our' world been educated against such practices?

If people can't handle children without having to resort to such measures, then it is obvious that they SHOULD NOT have any access to children what-so-ever.

 

[robbieando]

That is truely sad. Good on you for stepping in. If I was you I would of helped the kid fight back.

 

[carlyp]

Thats terrible! You did the right thing.....poor little kid

 

[Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk]

that sux i hate parents hitting kids mine still bash me up farkin arseholes! U can kill very small children from this i hope u got the number plate and rang the Police altho i doubt they would do anything until the child was braindamaged and dead.

i must admit tho i do smack my dog in public and feel bad for it different thing i kno hehe but still

 

[carlyp]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
that sux i hate parents hitting kids mine still bash me up farkin arseholes! U can kill very small children from this i hope u got the number plate and rang the Police altho i doubt they would do anything until the child was braindamaged and dead.

i must admit tho i do smack my dog in public and feel bad for it different thing i kno hehe but still

They still hit you???? FIGHT BACK GIRLFRIEND!

 

[redback]

Being a 30 year old guy & not having kids I cant say what it is like having a kid & what I would do if it had a temper tantrum but I would hope that I wouldnt resort to beating it I mean a small child couldnt be that hard to control my housemate is totally against physical abuse against children to get them to behave as she feels violence breeds violence & knowing her 2 kids I have to say they are great kids so I guess you can bring kids up without beating them maybe it is the parents that have a problem & not the kids.

 

[Outoftheblue]

Stocka,
Plaudits on your intervention. Too many people would have just kept walking.

 

[Hollypig]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
that sux i hate parents hitting kids mine still bash me up farkin arseholes!

& what your near 20yo ?
move out, whats wrong with you ?

 

[blurton]

For sure this family is already known to Child Protection. The parents obviously have lost the motivation to even disguise their abuse. The abuse will most likely be daily and probably more severe at home. If someone reported this level of physical abuse along with some identifying information such as the car registeration number, then something would be done. The report should go to the local Child Protection Office and the police. Either way, Child Protection would report it to the Police if injuries are found. The Police may then press charges and the parents might end up in the criminal court. At the same time, Child Protection may try to protect the children through the family division of the court by asking for a Children's Court Order.

Child Protection can access information from Police such as names and addresses from the car registration and criminal records.

Like I said, they are probabaly already known and this information becomes all the more concerning with an abusive history.

People have to start protecting all children not just their own.

 

[Danni]

The only thing more sickening, or at least just as sickening as witnessing something like that, is witnessing the number of people who see what is happening, and just keep on walking.

Congrats on stepping in.

Nobody, not even a parent, has the right to treat a child that way.

 

[Bee]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
that sux i hate parents hitting kids mine still bash me up farkin arseholes! U can kill very small children from this i hope u got the number plate and rang the Police altho i doubt they would do anything until the child was braindamaged and dead.

Jesus Spidey, are you serious? Move out, they have no right to do that especially now you are an adult!

I can't understand parents who bash their kids. Maybe a light tap on the back of the legs or the bum, but to actually belt your kids is assault!
I never even got a tap on the bum as a kid. (Mind you there were times when I probably deserved it).

Stocka, if you happened to get the rego of the car you should report it to Child Welfare and let them deal with it. I hate to think what else that poor kid goes through at home.

 

[dr nick]

Originally posted by Bee


Jesus Spidey, are you serious? Move out, they have no right to do that especially now you are an adult!

I can't understand parents who bash their kids. Maybe a light tap on the back of the legs or the bum, but to actually belt your kids is assault!
I never even got a tap on the bum as a kid. (Mind you there were times when I probably deserved it).

Stocka, if you happened to get the rego of the car you should report it to Child Welfare and let them deal with it. I hate to think what else that poor kid goes through at home.

agree with bee on both counts here.

that rego plate should be reported. if she is willing to go that far in public, imagine what goes on behind closed doors.

as for spidey's claim that she still gets beaten up, thats horiffic. i'd move the hell out.

its very hard to dob on your parents for beating the crap out of you. i used to get the crap beaten out of me when i was 10-11 by my dad (mind you i used to egg him on) but never had the courage to tell anyone about it. i used to just say i fell over.

 

[Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk]

yeh i wanna move out soon but its a bit hard when u dont have a job. Am starting one on Wednesday tho so if it works out then i am moving the *** out.

 

[dr nick]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
yeh i wanna move out soon but its a bit hard when u dont have a job. Am starting one on Wednesday tho so if it works out then i am moving the *** out.

yep, it is a LOT more expensive moving out

 

[BT]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
yeh i wanna move out soon but its a bit hard when u dont have a job. Am starting one on Wednesday tho so if it works out then i am moving the *** out.

Yep, you are on the right track. You just gotta hang in a little longer.

You'll be right .

 

[Bridgette]

Well done Stocka, I 'm not sure what the laws are on Citizens arrest (considering you had a security Guard with you) but I would have done the same as you as well as getting her Vehicle Registration and given it to the Police or Child Welfare.

Both of these agencies encourage reports on this appaling behaviour & it would not be surprising to know that these morons are already known.

We have all heard of people leaving Kids in cars & the like & I encourage all people to report such behaviour immediately, whether there are witnesses or not & let the relevant agencies follow it up, at least you've done something.

Peace,
Evan

 

[fugitive]

Good material for A current affair & today tonight. Did anyone make a video of it?

 

[Squeak]

Advocates tests to judge whether people are fit to parent, doesn't it.

I know that isn't practical, but some people should just not be able to have kids.

 

[Stocka]

Originally posted by fugitive
Good material for A current affair & today tonight. Did anyone make a video of it?

Sensitive.

 

[red+black]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
that sux i hate parents hitting kids mine still bash me up farkin arseholes!

if wot u say is true, then that is very sad indeed. i hope things improve 4 u

 

[red+black]

Originally posted by Squeak
Advocates tests to judge whether people are fit to parent, doesn't it.

I know that isn't practical, but some people should just not be able to have kids.

so many feral chicks that don't deserve to be able to have kids. yep, bring in license tests i say. if u have little education, and no job, and no steady boyfriend, well, any prospective kids aren't starting off on the right foot now are they?

i guess there are far worse things in the world, but it sickens me to see Moe slappers with 3 or 4 before they reach 20

 

[Stocka]

Apart from the fact that stepping in may have prevented a serious incident in the immediate sense, I don't particularly feel the better for having chosen to act. Rather, I feel terrible for what the child is likely to continue to have to put up with in treatment from their parents.

As someone pointed out earlier (Blurton, I think it was), you can expect that the child regularly receives beatings or abuse at home. The parent (and her friend) were obviously at the stage where they saw nothing wrong with their actions. When others tried to intervene, they merely became extremely abusive, and came out with the type of things that hinted that this hadn't been the first time for such actions. Similarly, the parent was intent on continuing with her action of beating her child, as well, even after knowing that two passers-by were prepared to intervene. They even looked likely to have a go at other people - they were that worked up (on drugs perhaps). They obviously had an extreme amount of anger, or contempt at anything which rose to their annoyance, and displayed uncontrolable actions of dealing with it.

I noted the style of car, I wasn't able to get the full details of the number plate (although I got part of it), despite telling them that I was going to forward their details on to the police (to which they basically replied "go ahead", once again possibly suggesting they are already known for their various activities).

The security guard who was there, basically said that he was going to handle it and he called a few of his mates down and asked, as the women were becoming fairly violent, throwing stuff at us and still having a go at the kids, and they were also joined by a male who appeared to be with them who despite looking totally out of it, also started yelling (couldn't tell what though). Basically I was ushered away (asked to move on), and as I could tell there were enough security people to take responsibility for the job that they were there for, I was reasonable content to leave it up to them.

The extent to which the matter was followed through after then, I am not too sure of. I didn't speak to anyone about it later, nor was I asked any questions upon leaving the store. The first security guard said he was going to report it, and the security people all looked fairly active for a while afterwards, and there was certainly a big enough scene which drew people's attention from the other end of the store. I did faintly hear what sounded like sirens whilst I was shopping, however, there are often quite a lot of emergency vehicles which use the adjacent streets in emergencies. I am certainly going to forward the information to police (later tonight hopefully), and ask them if they have/can follow the rest of the matter up with the security people at the shopping centre. (Although, without knowing the intricacies of the authority surrounding incidents such as these, I am unsure as to whether or not anything would/could be done - would it all be lost in paper work, and a case of here-say? What if the child sustained no particularly distinctive injuries??).

Thinking back as well, it is even more scary. Apart from the fact that this occurred in a public place, they had parked the car that they were in, in a place where cars do not normally park. It was more a pedestrian alley-way, which was dimly lit in the area where the car was parked.

From this I tend to suspect that the parent had pulled in there in order to give the child a right serious beating out of the sight of others (although, as I said earlier, they didn't seem to care that two people were prepared to intervene). Either that, or they were up to no good anyway.

Likewise, just by going on the screams of the child, he/she obviously knew they were in for a hiding too. These weren't just screams of a child who was upset about not getting their way. They were terrified screams akin to that of a child who knows they are able to be in for something terrible.

The only comfort I can take out of being one of those who intervened, is the possibility that a serious injury to the child may have been avoided (although, it is unfortunately likely that it was perhaps merely 'postponed' until they returned home).

I have seen parents hit their kids before, even to an extent which I would think was unreasonable, but this was just WAY, WAY past the extent of unreasonable. It was a very disturbing incident.

 

[Bridgette]

Once again Stocka, well done & I do hope you follow up with the Police tonite & as I said earlier, I probably would have taken a similar course of action.

Peace,
Evan

 

[Danni]

Originally posted by Stocka
Apart from the fact that stepping in may have prevented a serious incident in the immediate sense, I don't particularly feel the better for having chosen to act. Rather, I feel terrible for what the child is likely to continue to have to put up with in treatment from their parents.

As someone pointed out earlier (Blurton, I think it was), you can expect that the child regularly receives beatings or abuse at home. The parent (and her friend) were obviously at the stage where they saw nothing wrong with their actions. When others tried to intervene, they merely became extremely abusive, and came out with the type of things that hinted that this hadn't been the first time for such actions. Similarly, the parent was intent on continuing with her action of beating her child, as well, even after knowing that two passers-by were prepared to intervene. They even looked likely to have a go at other people - they were that worked up (on drugs perhaps). They obviously had an extreme amount of anger, or contempt at anything which rose to their annoyance, and displayed uncontrolable actions of dealing with it.

I noted the style of car, I wasn't able to get the full details of the number plate (although I got part of it), despite telling them that I was going to forward their details on to the police (to which they basically replied "go ahead", once again possibly suggesting they are already known for their various activities).

The security guard who was there, basically said that he was going to handle it and he called a few of his mates down and asked, as the women were becoming fairly violent, throwing stuff at us and still having a go at the kids, and they were also joined by a male who appeared to be with them who despite looking totally out of it, also started yelling (couldn't tell what though). Basically I was ushered away (asked to move on), and as I could tell there were enough security people to take responsibility for the job that they were there for, I was reasonable content to leave it up to them.

The extent to which the matter was followed through after then, I am not too sure of. I didn't speak to anyone about it later, nor was I asked any questions upon leaving the store. The first security guard said he was going to report it, and the security people all looked fairly active for a while afterwards, and there was certainly a big enough scene which drew people's attention from the other end of the store. I did faintly hear what sounded like sirens whilst I was shopping, however, there are often quite a lot of emergency vehicles which use the adjacent streets in emergencies. I am certainly going to forward the information to police (later tonight hopefully), and ask them if they have/can follow the rest of the matter up with the security people at the shopping centre. (Although, without knowing the intricacies of the authority surrounding incidents such as these, I am unsure as to whether or not anything would/could be done - would it all be lost in paper work, and a case of here-say? What if the child sustained no particularly distinctive injuries??).

Thinking back as well, it is even more scary. Apart from the fact that this occurred in a public place, they had parked the car that they were in, in a place where cars do not normally park. It was more a pedestrian alley-way, which was dimly lit in the area where the car was parked.

From this I tend to suspect that the parent had pulled in there in order to give the child a right serious beating out of the sight of others (although, as I said earlier, they didn't seem to care that two people were prepared to intervene). Either that, or they were up to no good anyway.

Likewise, just by going on the screams of the child, he/she obviously knew they were in for a hiding too. These weren't just screams of a child who was upset about not getting their way. They were terrified screams akin to that of a child who knows they are able to be in for something terrible.

The only comfort I can take out of being one of those who intervened, is the possibility that a serious injury to the child may have been avoided (although, it is unfortunately likely that it was perhaps merely 'postponed' until they returned home).

I have seen parents hit their kids before, even to an extent which I would think was unreasonable, but this was just WAY, WAY past the extent of unreasonable. It was a very disturbing incident.

The whole thing just brings tears to my eyes

When I was a teenager I used to work in one of the big chain department stores as a casual (as alot of teenagers do).

One Saturday near lunchtime/closing time (the shops used to close at midday back then) one of our staff members got the sack for 'abusing and man handling a customer'.

In reality what she had done was confront a mother who was screaming at her child and physically pulling the child along by their wrist with such force that the mother dislocated the childs shoulder. This of course made the child scream in agony and the mother get more and more abusive both verbally and physically with the mother belting the childs rear end while screaming at her to shut up. Our staff member wrenched the mother off the child, popped the childs shoulder back in, and then told the mother off in no uncertain way and walked away to call the police. The mother fled, managment saw only the end of it, and the woman was sacked. Turned out she had been a victim of systematic physical abuse for years in a state run care facility and could see what happened to the childs arm and knew what to do.

I think at the time I was too young to understand the seriousness of what I saw, but now I am glad to see there are others still in this day and age that are willing to step in and try and help when they see the need.

 

[mantis]

Originally posted by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk
that sux i hate parents hitting kids mine still bash me up farkin arseholes! U can kill very small children from this i hope u got the number plate and rang the Police altho i doubt they would do anything until the child was braindamaged and dead.

i must admit tho i do smack my dog in public and feel bad for it different thing i kno hehe but still

Spidey I can't believe that your parents are still hitting you, that sucks, my parents used to bash me until I was 15, used to use the cane end of a feather duster, the welts on my legs lasted for weeks, one day I had enough & threw a chair at them, then proceeded to smash my room up, walls doors, windows, looked like a bomb site, guess that's why they chucked me out, best thing they ever did for me, never looked back, if I had have stayed there I probably would have killed them.

OH & spidey you shouldn't smack your dog, even when you are at home, same with kids, positive reinforcement gets better results, not physical punishment.