when you see a parent or relative not just discipling but abusing or border line abusing a child or willfully neglecting child safety, do you say or do something?

I do. I don't care what that person thinks. Maybe it will teach the person that there ARE people that see what they are doing. I've taken down license plates and called CPS. (That mom was in the car literally leaning over one kid closed fist hitting a yound child while driving) I've had a parent say, "He is just everywhere and won't listen, smacking him is the only thing that works." and I told her to think about what SHE is doing wrong as parent that she has to resort to hitting her child.


*edited to add neglect ;)

I've reported parents to the Daycare Manager when I've seen them drive away with a kid standing in the back of the car not buckled into their carseat...

yes I've said something to a parent before

I've never seen it. I'd say something and report it though if I saw something like that.

I've called the police on some one in the store I used to work at

I've never seen it myself personally but I would speak up:yes

I saw someone on Christmas Eve beating their toddler in the parking lot-I called the cops and luckily the police station was right across the street so they were there in less than 30 seconds and I didn't have to intervene.

I sure have spoken up. Where I used to work at the local college a parent (mom) was smacking their child really hard repeatedly in the financial aid waiting area. I called up campus security and they took the mom away.

Edited to add that the mother smacked the child repeatedly and hard. You could hear the smack.

I would certainly report a parent if I saw them closed fist hitting a child or obviously abusing or neglecting them. I reported my own step-sister. I don't know if I would if I saw them simply smack a child in the face or spanking their bottom because Washington state is a corporal punishment state & parents are allowed to slap a child's face or spank them. I might say something to them though.

Edited for spelling-ND

I've never seen anyone do that in public but I think I'd say something.

It would depend on what they were doing.
Smack and hitting closed fist are two totally different things.
TX is a Corp punishment state too. You can actually spank a child with a belt here. :shock Legally
So there is a line
but you let me see someone with thier kid standing etc.. in a car and I will follow them and say something :yes have done it many times here but I don't think they understood me :no

I have and only a handful of times. I had to call the base MP's a couple of years ago when a woman pulled up with her friend to the exchange and the passenger had her child on her lap......the kid was under one. The excuse? "I was going to buy a carseat today"........oy. Then walk.........or have someone babysit your child......a short trip could have been deadly.

This past weekend I had to politely ask a woman to please watch her son who was probably about 4 and swimming alone at the pool. He was all over the place, sure he had a life vest, but when my husband ended up helping him get in and out several times and grabbed him when he was struggling a bit.......that crossed the line. Get into the pool, quit sunbathing and watch your kid......

I've never seen blatant abuse firsthand. I know others who have, but rather than call CPS, threatened bodily harm to the dad that was doing the abusing. I think bodily harm would be MY first impulse reaction - just because I get SO ANGRY when it comes to abuse.

It's really interesting that you would bring this up. I've been meaning to make a thread for the last couple of weeks but never got around to it, about trying to figure out why some people are so mean to their children. I see it ALOT, at the commissary, walmart, etc. I was at the commissary 2 weeks ago, and this woman was their with her two sons. They were big kids, like 10-12. She kept looking at the one son HATEFULLY and saying "Just SHUTUP, ok? I don't want to f*cking hear it...SHUT UP before I smack your mouth.". I was like :wow I didn't say anything to her - but I shot her a look. I do that alot, shoot looks. It's just so sad to me, to see people treating their children poorly. How in the world do you expect them to respect you if you don't give then an ounce of respect yourself? Pisses me off and makes me sad :yes

I'm sorry for the temporary threadjack. I just had to get that out since we're on topic. Honestly, if I saw straight up physical abuse, I know I'd have to step in personally - then call CPS later. I can't just stand idly by and watch someone beat their children. That lady in the car, I'd have followed her and called 911 from my cell to report her. I'm a bitch like that.

i was giving blood one time at my university and this woman punched her toddler in the face because she wanted the bottle (the toddler did). if i didn't have a needle in my damn arm i wouldv'e gotten up and said something. i said something to her after and she looked like she was going to beat my ass (she was a large woman). then she left.

j/w but did anyone else see that dateline or 60 minutes or 20/20 (i can't remember which one) but they did a special to see if people would intervene in the instance of seeing a boyfriend/husband abusing his gf/wife. most people did that one but they did another one where they had a woman verbally abusing a 6 or 7 year old and an 11 or 12 year old (they cleared it with the mother of the child and talked to the child first) and hardly anyone said anything to them. the woman was like you are an stupid a**hole, etc etc to the kid and i believe it was only like 2 out of 50 (or maybe 100) came and said anything. their reason....i don't want to get involved in someone elses parenting style.

I've called the cops about people several times. Once I called about a little kid maybe 1 1/2 wondering after dark wearing only a diaper, another time a drunk dad came to daycare I worked at and picked up his son

I've had someone come to me basicaly telling me to be nicer to my kid. I had my hands full of shopping bags because I was school clothes shopping for Cory. Lily sat in the miggle of the walk way just screaming because she didn't want to leave. I had no choice but to grab her around her middle and carry her out of the mall. I tried being nice and this and that but she was just being a brat. She was kicking, screaming and trying to hit me. Im sure the lady meant well but that was not what I needed to hear right then.