To think this is no way to punish a child!

[Justalittlelemondrizzle]

Neighbours arrived home. Dad shouting and swearing at 7yo lad. Don't know what he's done obvs. They went in house where their neighbour heard banging before the crying 7 yo is thrown out of the house and the door is locked. He's knocked on the door about 10 times. It's raining so he keeps going under a shelter in the garden as he doesn't even have a coat on.
Dads just come out to take football off him before going back in the house and locking the door so the kid is now playing with rocks. He's been out there 40 minutes now 😒 surely this isn't normal behaviour?

What does talking to the parents achieve? They were abusing their child and should be reported. You talk to them and the child will probably be punished for it, I am speaking from experience here.

No obvious signs of abuse?? What you witnessed WAS abuse. Vile. I would have to report to SS, I couldn't live with myself if I ignored that.

You can also ring NSPCC

That's awful. Poor kid.

Why would you speak to the school? This is abuse, it’s happening now it’s nothing to do with school. Why would you not want Social Services involved? A child is being mistreated. Phone the police and report it, and I say this as a social worker.

our neighbours did this a couple of times that I know of when the DS was about 3/4. The first time the lady across the road hammered on the door until they let him in. The second time I did the same thing. They are not from the UK and I think this might be the norm in their country of origin because when the mum opened the door to me she looked annoyed with me and snapped 'punishment!' I replied 'it's dangerous, it's illegal' and she slammed the door on me but at least he was indoors by then. I haven't seen them do it again but it does worry me what they might be doing behind closed doors.

@joskar I can't believe you still refer to those child abusers as friends. I can't believe you just gave them a book. I would have immediately called the authorities and cut them out of my life. I couldn't be in the same room as people I knew behaved like that to a FOUR year old ffs.

Speak to social services right now

joskar a 4 year old? How can anyone do that to a 4 year old?

I know, I often have to reassure my 4 year old dgd that there aren't any monsters, I can't imagine deliberately inflicting that fear on her.

A 4 year old. And they thought it was funny he was scared that is abuse Jokstar. Oh my goodness, that poor littler muppet

4..... still thinking about this. It's so upsetting

Yes coy then actually laughing about the four year old fear.

Loonan did you report to anyone? Or just sit worrying a bit... What might be happening behind closed doors.

What's wrong with people.

I have friends who put their 4 year old outside when he's naughty. They were telling a "funny" story about him calling in through the letterbox that he was scared of the dark and monsters might get him. My heart broke a wee bit at the thought of that. I once leant them a book with gentler discipline methods. I don't think they read it though. It wouldn't be my choice of discipline but you can't get involved unless a child is actually being abused.

You call them friends? And that’s not abuse?? Fucking Hell!!!

You need to report this behaviour.

If your neighbours are willing to do this publicly, what are they doing behind closed doors?

It's everyone's responsibility to keep children safe. I can just imagine the hand-wringing that would happen after something more serious, from people who saw but didn't act.

I can't believe you wouldn't phone the police straight away.

I am not one for logging things with 101 or whatever the buzz word is but this definitely needs reporting.

Sweet God, am I reading right that you just sat and watched as a grown man screamed and shouted at a small boy, then locked him out in the rain and refused to let him inside for three quarters of an hour?

Even when the Dad was cold enough to come out, remove the toy the child was playing with, and then go back inside?

That's not a heat-of-the-moment ill-judgement, OP, that's intentionally calculated punishment, and it's not normal parenting, at all. I'm wincing at just the thought of someone treating my DD like that.

That said, my DD would be utterly distressed if I did that to her, an the fact that this child isn't says he's used to this - even worse still.

Please call the Police, OP. I understand why you wouldn't confront, but you have to do something. Or the school, I guess. If you're sure which one. It's better than nothing, but please do something!

It wouldn't be my choice of discipline but you can't get involved unless a child is actually being abused. What in hell would you consider actual 'abuse'?

Social Services. There’s a .gov.uk website for reporting and you can remain anonymous. Failing that, the nspcc. “Do it. Don’t regret it” is my slogan here. God knows what’s going on within that family.

No obvious signs of abuse but like you say.

Yes. There is. You just witnessed some. That is not any kind of valid discipline strategy, at best it's a one off meltdown- but you don't know that.

PHONE THE POLICE AND SOCIAL SERVICES NOW.

I'll be thinking about these 4 & 7 year olds for a while. It's so upsetting!

No way is this ok. It's abuse. You need to report this. You simply do not lock a child out without their coat in the cold and rain. This is never normal or acceptable, ever. Please call the police about this, that poor child.

As for the little 4 year old shut out in the dark. My heart just broke. What sort of person does that? Sickening.

When you hear about these poor children in the news that have suffered years and neglect I always think how could no one have seen something? Someone must have suspected something

Clearly enough people think that locking a small child out in the cold and laughing about it is normal that I shouldn’t be surprised. :(

no obvious signs of abuse so shutting a young lad outside n the rain after shouting at him and making him cry is not abuse? I would report it to social services, it is abuse. You never know what’s going on inside the house, poor boy.

Yesterday I went for a walk and saw a young child walking along a muddy footpath wearing a T-Shirts and nothing on his feet, he was coughing, it’s cold outside for FS, there wasn’t anything I could do, if I reported it no one would have known who they were. You know where these people live, report it, you may not be the first to report them, you might not be the last, social service rely on people to report things to build up evedence.

Did you seriously need to create this thread to ask 'Surely this isn't normal behaviour?'

You really needed this to be confirmed? What the fuck?

Bet OP does nothing dives back to her own life and doesn't bother helping the poor kid, someone elses issue!! Everyone says ring the police and she says there is no sign of abuse. Ugh. This world sometimes. My heart aches for this poor child.

Report it. What you see could be a small piece in a bigger puzzle.

There was a 6 year old that died from Pneumonia because it was raining and she was kicked out into the cold for an hour but when she went in they put her straight in the bath which caused a bad reaction from the cold of outside. you never think of these things but they do happen