To share with you my very first judgypants hoisting about another mum's parenting?

[IDrinkFromTheirSkulls]

I was on the train today coming home from work, when a family got on; mum, dad, 3 kids on foot and a toddler asleep in the pushchair. One of the little lads, who must've been about 4 or 5 years old, was a bit boisterous, running up and down the train etc but nothing too disruptive. The whole family seemed pleasant enough.

Then as I was getting off the train, the boy started to take the dummy out of his little brother's mouth, while he was sleeping. His dad said "Don't wake him up" ONCE to the lad then a second later his mum smacked the boy on the forehead and just said "leave him alone". She didn't shout and didn't hit him hard but enough to shock him. The lad didn't cry, just went and sat next to his sister with a sulky face on (as you would if you got smacked on the head!!!)

I am was so shocked that she would do that in front of a train full of people and with no warning to the little boy at all! I accept that she has the right to parent any way she wants but I just can't believe she would just do that without even asking him to stop first!

I really hope she sees this and thinks twice about her parenting technique!

How is hitting someone in the face non-aggressive?
Why is the only alternative to warning swats being a parent that doesn't try to keep their kid in line?
Surely, the boy not crying was a sign that he gets hit often.

Just saying.

It wasnt great but it could have been a whole lot worse.

Well i'm guessing it wasn't aggressive as the boy didn't cry. I suppose I mean it wasn't a violent,intent to harm action, more of swatting "hey come on you've had a warning go and sit down" sort of thing.

Anyway I wasn't there obviously but it doesn't sound serious!

The boy probably didn't cry because he is hit so often, and he knows cryong will make things worse for him.

A child who isn't used to being hit would be shocked and upset.

I have never smacked my DC.

However in the past 5 mths I have done an awful lot of "swatting" DD (6)out of DC4's face. She gets a light tap on the shoulder/arm/head no harder than a tap given to burp the baby and done in jest.

It doesn't bother DD1 in the slightest. She doesn't cry because it doesn't hurt/upset her.

I don't agree with smacking but like pp's have said you don't know how he'd behaved the rest of the day.

Although it's difficult not to YABU for judging her. I hate seeing children getting smacked in public.

Well how many warnings are you supposed to give?

Swatting your child is probably not the best example of parenting in the world, but it was a quick and effective solution for this child. The alternative was to give more warnings or threats or non-immediate sanctions, which would have meant he carried on and woke up his sleeping brother. TBH they did you a favour by not having a grumpy woken up toddler crying for the rest of the train journey.

Much as I hate people hitting their children, I can't help thinking that it's a very quick and effective way of making them behave without dragging the punishment out over a prolonged period. Wee boy didn't seem too bothered either...

In a couple of years the baby will be able to swat his annoying brother away for himself! At the moment Mum is doing it for him IMO.