Vent: the football game last night....

[erikanorth]

Dh, ds, and I went to the high school football game here last night. Ds is only 15 months, but he had fun running around, watching the band, etc..... At one point, dh brought ds up in the stands to "see the action better" and I stayed with the stroller.....well.....

The people standing beside me almost made me sick. They had two small children with them, about 4 and 2. I was only beside them for about ten minutes, in which time they spanked the 4 year old twice and the 2 year old once. I was in shock!!!! After she spanked the two year old, her friends came and she made light / made fun of it -- "ha ha "Maggie" got her hide tanned." She then told "maggie" to get her ass into her pj's (her friend brought them from the car) Then the 4 year old was whining (it's nine o'clock, I'm sure he's exhausted) and she starts hitting him - hard - and says, "I'll tear your ass up, I don't care where we are!" I almost threw up. I gave them a shocked look and walked away. I felt like saying something, but was sure it wouldn't help.

We just moved here 3 months ago and I've seen children spanked in public soooo many times -- at the store, at the park, etc. I can't get over it!!! I just needed to vent and say thank you to all of you for being here, and reminding me that I'm not in this gd thing alone.

Give your dc an extra hug today for me.....

[allgirls]

I know, I saw a grandma at the playgroup yesterday consistantly yelling at and slapping the hands of a 21 mos old boy who was throwing the balls outta the ball thing with all the balls they jump in and she wanted to throw them at the wall...he just was confused at what she wanted and I finally had to say something...I said "aww he's just being a toddler...they don't get it at that age" and she said "well whether he gets it or not right is right and wrong is wrong" and I said "yeah but what's the point if they are too young to get the concept" and I said "but they can be redirected" and I picked up a ball and threw it at the picture on the wall and said "can you hit the picture" and he immediately started throwing the balls at the wall...we played this way for quite a while. The grandma wasn't upset though I think she was amazed that he understood and I said something about his gorgeous dimples(honestly he was a beautiful child with golden curls, blue eyes and big dimples) to diffuse the situation and the coordinator at the centre started talking about "age appropriate behaviour and impulse control" it actually went quite well...

But of course you can't do that at a football game~I mean you don't need a screaming match in front of your children.

I have trouble with seeing children get hit for any reason and I always say or do something even if it's just a nasty look...someone has to advocate for the child.

I also often have to explain to my children that it's wrong to hit no matter what. Sophia was staring so much at the little boy getting yelled at and I could tell it was disturbing her.

Hugs mama..at least you are doing the right thing with your children...keep that in mind. Maybe your actions will influence how others treat theirs...that's what I try to keep in mind.

[sparkprincess]

I'm normally a nice/tolerant person, but I CANNOT stand to see people treat their children like that. It breaks my heart!

Good for you for giving her a look. It's nice to know there are others out there who care enough to stand up (even in a subtle way).

When I see that happening I always try to give a very shocked look. I try not to give a look of disgust because I think that may make them feel defensive. My hope is that if they look up and see someone looking at them with a totally shocked expression they may think twice. I dunno.

Maybe at least the child will see and and know that not everyone treats people that way. ???

[littleaugustbaby]

How sad.

allgirls - to you! Way to go!