to report a stranger I saw hit (hard) her child in a car park

[janmoomoo]

Dont know whether its any of my business and if I am being a busy-body. Saw a woman absolutely whallop her child with all her might, then call him a little b**rd. In a fit of disgust I took down her car number plate, I was quite upset and so was another man who saw it. Dont know whether I should report her to the police (is that the right place to report this sort of thing to) or whether to assume it was a one off and none of my business. Would the police be interested, I dont know. WWYD?

I would report it. Poor kid :(

Police absolutely. God knows what they will do but I would have to.

Was there any clue as to why she did it?

It is a criminal offence to hit a child hard

You could telephone one of the children's charities and just ask them what you could do? I'd appreciate their advice.

Police....if you saw one adult walloping another you'd call the police....horrid woman!!! Not you op!!! The other one

Angelo?,....can there be a valid reason for it? I think not....

Who gives a crap why she did it "Angel".....Yes report her OP...poor kid.

Of course it is your business. This child was not safe with its parent at that moment in time and needed someone to look for them.

I feel for you. DH and I were at a large scale outdoor event where we saw a very well dressed woman scream at her DS in an uber-posh accent and then hit him across the side of the head literally as hard as she could. Poor kid nearly came off his feet. I have never seen anyone hit anyone, let alone a child, as hard as that. Dozens of people saw her and none of us stepped in. we worried about it for ages afterwards and felt like for not doing anything about it.

I don't think you are being unreasonable. I would do exactly what I would do if I saw someone assault a stranger in a car park, their spouse in a car park...

Whalloping someone and calling them a bastard is unacceptable. I fail to see why it is ok to whallop your child, but not to whallop their teacher, your gp, a shop assistant, your aged grandmother...

I can't imagine someone thumping their doctor and calling them a bastard and everyone going oh, don't judge, they might be a really lovely person but having a bad day, you don't know the full picture, that doctor may have been winding them up for ages, don't judge unless you've walked a mile in their shoes...

nope. We seem to save that for the whalloping of children.

I can't agree that it's ok.

As you have the car registration number then yes I would report it. The police may just pay a visit to ensure that child is OK and not pursue it any further but they will put in a report (pro forma ) to social services . It may be a small part of a very big picture that they have.

Ensure that you say how distressed you were by the incident.

She actually said "You've marked my car you little b**rd". I think he might have scratched the paintwork! He was only about 1 or maybe 2 so wouldnt have known what he had done.

Yes report it.

Absolutely agree with Hecate.

PLEASE report it. Some of us have been that kid. The sooner our mother's had been given a stern warning, the sooner they might have stopped walloping us and not progressed to household objects. PLEASE.
Thank you.

Agree you should try to report. And quickly as car parks often have CCTV.

Report it.

If more unfortunate things happen against this child then there will be a solid case brought against this woman. Hopefully if all the people who witness her behaviour report, she may be stopped in time.

Thanks, have been worrying about it all afternoon. Think you are all right. LadyRabbit you have convinced me :(

What would I do then - phone the local police station in that area (its not where I live)?

Report her please

Don't hesitate to report it.

Agree with Hecate

You are more likely to see outrage about someone swinging a cat round by their tail on CCTV than hitting a child unfortunately

Report it. Don't feel bad, you are definitely diing the right thing.

Please please do something. If there is already something on record you might make them take further action, if not it puts them on the radar.... You dont want to see his face in the paper in a years time. Poor kid... nobody should be treated like that, but there is nothing he can do for himself, its only the rare member of the public who is brave enough to stick up for kids like this that can make a difference. If he is that small then a hard blow to the head will be taken seriously, as his skull is not formed yet, and serious damage can happen.
Please please please follow through on how brave you have been, and call either the police or social services.... You are the only voice that little child has, and the only chance of stopping it. Its never just once, especially if its in public. Good luck, and I really admire you for not turning away from this.

Yes, do that.

Ask NSPCC.co.uk or Childline.co.uk? They will advise you I should think?

janmoomoo please report it. I think it is the police local to the area you need to report it too.