Child abusers

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. I have been overworked and pretty sick for a few months. But alas, have I got a story for you!

For those that don't know, I volunteer at a resale shop that benefits a domestic violence shelter. Last weekend, I witnessed a mother beating the hell out of her little boy in the shop while completely ignoring her screaming toddler in the stroller.

I don't know what happened exactly. This woman had been in the store for about an hour. Her daughter in the stroller had been crying hysterically the whole time. Her son was about 4 or 5. As a boy that age, wandering around a thrift store for an hour has got to be pretty boring. The only thing I can think of that set her off was him asking her if they could go home. (That is not a violence inducing request, but whatever.)

She then punched him in the back of his head. He fell forward and hit the front of his head on a clothing rack. Then she said," Now STOP IT!". The boy didn't cry but he did have the sense to run away from her.

That lady is lucky my supervisor was right there next to me at that point. I was ready with some harsh words and a phone call to the police. My supervisor was more subtle. She explained to that woman that this was a non violence store and that we have time out chairs if her kids were misbehaving. The woman ignored her and went into the fitting room, dragging her daughter in with her but leaving the boy on his own. The two kids were given organic lolly pops from my supervisor but the woman took away the little girls after a few minutes and threw it on the floor by the shoe rack. They eventually left about a half hour later.

I'm going to skip past the irony of beating your kids in a store that donates all the proceeds to a domestic violence shelter and discuss the implications of beating your children in public.

Some might say the only way to parent children is to beat them senseless until they are afraid of you. Those people are failures at life and should be sterilized.

I have a severe dislike for anyone who spanks their child, but more so for people who hit their children in public and ignore their screaming child while they are shopping. The child is screaming and crying for a reason. Stop being selfish, mindless consumers and tend to your child's needs! Ignoring your child is equivalent to beating the crap out of it. In addition, hitting your child only teaches them to hit others to solve their problems.

There are much more effective ways to discipline your children. Using violence is never a proper way. If your child only responds to violence, then you have bigger problems. Remember, they learn habits and problem solving methods from YOU!