LAURA4 Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 thankyou both biglil and devan, I'm not sure about brave I just did what I thought was right. one of the worst instances I ever saw was at sheffield station ,a woman slapped a young boy so hard that he fell on the floor but worse ,she screamed at him "I wish you'd died at birth" how could anyone say that. I was muh younger then and had an awful temper, before I realised what I was doing I ran at her and slapped her,Ive never done it again and I have never forgotten it. I did call the police on that occasion but nothing happened apart from a warning to us both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maz3 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 A woman after me own heart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I was out with a friend on Bridlington seafront and came upon a woman screaming abuse at a young boy,8 or 10yrs old, as we drew closer she punched him in the side of his head with her fist. She was about to do so again when I stopped her,of course she told me to mind my own business but I said it was mine and everyone elses business if a child was being abused.I was in tears by this time but didn't back down She just said "well you take him then and walked away.My friend gave me a long lecture about interfeering,making a fool of myself and embarassing her,and she's an exsocial worker, who was right and who was wrong in this situation, she has made me feel terrible Undoubtably, you present events in a light that supports your own position and justifies the actions you took. Pretty much everyone does this. We all feel justified and in the right, with regards to the positions we hold. Usually, people post stuff like this here, because they want other people to tell them they're right, so they then feel justified in their actions, and so become even more entrenched in their point of view etc. Maybe you could have approached the situation better? How do you think you could have handled the situation better? Talked to the lady, asked her if you could help, been more understanding, tried to get a fuller picture of what had gone on leading up to the incident, tried to calm things down rather than being confrontational... All of which, is of course, a LOT easier said than done. Only you really know the answer to your question. For me, I think the situation would have to be very serious to justify interceding in a confrontational way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim1 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I would have tried to video it and dial 999! No ifs or buts lol. Horrid woman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Talker Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 About three years ago, I witnessed a mother being abusive to her child, calling it all sorts of names, and just generally effing and blinding at her. the child was not misbehaving, but the mother was ranting at her as if she were. I could hear the abuse coming from the mother's foul mouth before they even got on the bus I was travelling on. she also had a little boy, slightly older with her, but she did not direct any aabuse toward the boy. I could not do much at the time, and I did not want to cause the mother to take it out on the little girl, even worse than she was doing already. Knowing the school the children most likely came from, the following monday (this happened late one friday afternoon) I went up to the school and asked to speak with the child protection officer, who happened to be the headmistress. I detailed the incident, and explained that i was concerned that, if the mother were like this in public, what on earth was she like to the child in private? I was most concerned for the kiddies' welfare, and wanted to flag up the incident, in case they needed independent backup/ verification if there had to be a case brought to protect the child. I explained what I had seen, and described the mother and child, and mentioned the boy with them. the head said "Was he XXX age, XXX build, with XXx hair, etc etc..?" (details witheld for obvious reasons) I confirmed the boy fitted that description and the head said that she had a good idea who they were, and hinted that there would be action. Hopefully, this will have got the child the protection it needed. I know that if i had not spoken out, and the next week, the next month, etc, we'd heard of that child being killed, I know I could not have lived with myself for not speaking out. You did right, Laura4, to stand up to the mother, in this case. ---------- Post added 14-07-2014 at 23:45 ---------- here's the thread from January 2010 about the little girl on the bus http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=537799 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
999tigger Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Only you really know the answer to your question. For me, I think the situation would have to be very serious to justify interceding in a confrontational way. I think someone punching a child is serious and justifies interceding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmen. Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Good for you Laura. We should look out for one another, particularly a child. There's too much ''looking the other way'' I would have done the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I think someone punching a child is serious and justifies interceding. I agree, it justifies interceding. I said intervening in a confrontational way, because I think there are often better more effective ways to help a situation and the people involved. In the situation the OP details, the child goes home with the bad parent, and I wonder if the parent is now in a worse mood because of the confrontation, and will take it out on the child, in private, behind closed doors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bloom Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I believe you did the right thing in preventing the woman from punching the child again in front of you. I think then the right action would have been to fade in to the background as much as possible, but to keep them in sight, whilst phoning/texting the police and then let the police speak with the mother, then this is on record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 There is "reasonable chastisement" and then there is abuse. What you saw Laura was abuse - no ifs no buts. You did nothing to be ashamed of, and if I may be permitted in view of the dignity of your age you are to be commended for stepping forward at some personal risk to yourself. I'd urge you to report the matter to the police though - it may be this is sufficient for them to find this child and perhaps get social services to take a look. Whatever horror stories you hear about them are very much in the minorty as the work that do is usually of sterling service and wholly to the benefit of the children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.