What would you do if an adult hit your child

[Breadcheesebread]

Without going into too many details.

Two 6 month olds were playing, one ended up hitting the other on the hand, accidentally.
Neither reacted, carried on playing.

The mother of the one who was hit, said 'I saw that' and lightly tapped the hand of the child who had hit her child.
She then turned to her own child and asked if she was OK. Her child stared blankly at her.

The poor kid who had just been hit by the adult looked so confused.
The mother of the one that hit his friend accidentally was so shocked she didn't say anything.

If it was my child, it would take all my strength not to slap the woman.

Or is that unreasonable?

@Liervik As an adult you are suppose to stop children trying to injure themselves even if you don't know the children concerned.

Are you ok? To a 6 month old? Batshit

@khakiandcoral it is in Scotland which is part of the UK

If someone smacked my tiny baby I’d ask them what the fuck they thought they were doing. Bizarre behaviour.

if someone smacked my tiny baby I’d ask them what the fuck they thought they were doing. Bizarre behaviour.

But in this scenario, no baby has been ‘smacked’

@Breadcheesebread what is the relationship between the adults?

I can't think I'd let even my closest relatives do that to my child without me going apocalyptic, but the relationship here may be key.

@shouldistop

In what way were the 6 month old babies playing? I'm struggling to imagine my 6mo playing with another baby, he just laughs or squeals if someone looks at him and shakes a rattle.

Presumably just lying/possibly sitting/propped up near each other with some toys.

@Thefaceofboe

if someone smacked my tiny baby I’d ask them what the fuck they thought they were doing. Bizarre behaviour.

But in this scenario, no baby has been ‘smacked’

A smack on the hand is still a smack.

I’d pick up my child and remove further away, but probably not leave altogether. I’d then turn to the woman and say (calmly but pointedly)
‘I can’t see Emily being invited on many play dates down the track if you take it upon yourself to discipline other peoples’s kids- no matter how much you want to. Ask around, it’s just not done.’

Then I’d change the subject, or start chatting to someone else.

Inside I’d be furious. But showing that fury won’t be effective. It won’t be the last time someone acts in an inappropriate way around my kid, I’d know that. But maybe I can influence how she treats her own. Even if I use a little shaming to get her to that point.

Since when did 6 months old play together, and how would a 6 month old understand being asked if they were ok after the other one hit their hand

A smack on the hand is still a smack

OP has described it as a ‘light tap’ in her original post, so no it’s not a smack.

The woman is deranged, 6 month olds don´t hit on purpose. They try to touch but their motor skills are very primitive. Surely a mother would know that? I would have asked her what she was playing at.
You should amend your title OP, she didn´t hit her.

Ridiculous behaviour! A 6 month old doesn't have any understanding of being asked 'are you ok' even of the word 'no' at that age! They also don't understand hurting someone and are only discovering flailing about.
My DS is a similar age and when we meet other mums and their babies there have been many occasions where ones hand has caught another baby or they've grabbed hair and of course it isn't malicious! I'd never ever touch or tap a child for this.
I'd probably give her a wide berth to be honest, and echoing other pp's if another mum hit my child I'd be putting her through the nearest window.

I wouldn’t be happy about it, but your title is misleading and sensationalist.

The baby wasn’t hit - they were lightly tapped.

It wasn’t done as revenge - it was done in chastisement.

You are creating a massive issue here where there doesn’t need to be one and basically lying about what happened.

@Nitpickpicnic

I’d pick up my child and remove further away, but probably not leave altogether. I’d then turn to the woman and say (calmly but pointedly) ‘I can’t see Emily being invited on many play dates down the track if you take it upon yourself to discipline other peoples’s kids- no matter how much you want to. Ask around, it’s just not done.’

Then I’d change the subject, or start chatting to someone else.

Inside I’d be furious. But showing that fury won’t be effective. It won’t be the last time someone acts in an inappropriate way around my kid, I’d know that. But maybe I can influence how she treats her own. Even if I use a little shaming to get her to that point.

See I feel like this would be a great response if someone did this to my three year old (though obviously I'd also intervene myself if he hit another child) - to say that we don't do physical punishment and I don't appreciate them deciding to do it on my behalf. If someone did it to my younger son, who is a baby just slightly younger than this example, then it's just so weird and crazy that that seems to almost give her too much credence - like there is a time and place for smacking six month olds and that just wasn't it? It would be like if someone tried to sell my cats drugs, I wouldn't know where to start on telling them not to and I don't think I'd get into the rights and wrongs of the cocaine trade, I'd just write them off as deeply strange and give them a wide berth.

Batting a hand away? I'd have raised an eyebrow, thought "fucking weirdo" moved my baby away and then never engaged with the mother again.

The more normal thing to do with lunging, accidentally scratchy six month old hands is to move her own baby six inches back.

Hit my baby? She'd have been picking her teeth out of her toilet as I'd have knocked them down her throat.

How could anyone ask a 6 month old if they were ok and expect a response? Bizarre.

Was the baby hit or tapped? Big difference. All sounds a bit strange tbh

I would definitely cut her out and never have a play date with her again. Awful behaviour.

A light tap, or a hit?

Totally depends on the actual action

a light tap is not a hit.

Nobody of sound mind and average intelligence would chastise a six month old of their own never mind someone else's.

It is pointless as a baby of that age is utterly incapable of understanding, well, any of it.

If they are in peril, you pick them up or gently hold their hands away from causing or receiving harm.

An adult tapping a child of this age is only for the benefit of the adult's feelings, when neither child is old enough to understand, so I am going to go out on a limb here and say, yes, actually it is possibly a vengeful act as the only reason to do it would be retaliation for her child getting touched in a way she disapproved of.

Me personally, I would have asked her what the hell she thought she was doing touching my baby like that.

I would have to fight the automatic urge to twat her one first though.

It's not my idea of teaching a child but old fashioned view is consequences, which is what this woman may have been doing

6 minths old through 👀 ... reminds me of some weird cult programme/film perhaps where the cult leader insisted on punishing babies for crying ... it was bloody horrible!

6 months old don't understand discipline, also no one should be physically reprimanding a child.

They didn't seem upset so clearly no harm done, all she did was confuse them and the 6 month old who's wondering why the adult is acting mean towards them.

As others have said, I’d hit the roof.