Would you intervene?

[skcin]

^ OK, hon, that was funny the first couple of times. Not so much anymore.

Anyway, I absolutely would have reported this. I mind my own business when people are yelling at their kids, or even if they swat them on the butt. But hair pulling & punching? That cannot, and should not, be ignored.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by skcin

Anyway, I absolutely would have reported this. I mind my own business when people are yelling at their kids, or even if they swat them on the butt. But hair pulling & punching? That cannot, and should not, be ignored.

But what would this accomplish? I would just fear that the parents would become even more irate and would vent even more furiously once they are behind closed doors with the girl. It's not like Social Services can just yank the child out of their custody based on some eyewitness reports. Unfortunately the kid has to have some pretty visible/palpable/demonstrable evidence of abuse to substantiate this kind of action. And the poor kid loses no matter what the outcome.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

But what would this accomplish? I would just fear that the parents would become even more irate and would vent even more furiously once they are behind closed doors with the girl. It's not like Social Services can just yank the child out of their custody based on some eyewitness reports. Unfortunately the kid has to have some pretty visible/palpable/demonstrable evidence of abuse to substantiate this kind of action. And the poor kid loses no matter what the outcome.

You're right, there's a chance that nothing would come of it and maybe the kid would get it worse. But there is also a chance that you can help a child. If you do nothing, it's pretty much guaranteed that the abuse will never stop.

I see your point in theory, but as a nurse I'm actually required by law in my state to report abuse, even if it's only a suspicion. I believe it's only mandated if I'm in the workplace, but even in my private life I couldn't turn a blind eye & say "it's not my problem" and hope someone else helps instead.

[Rickypt]

^I am in training to become a "CASA", which is a court-appointed advocate for children in foster care system. I'm learning quite a bit about the system and process for removing a child from his/her home.

While it's true that reporting this one incident wouldn't result in the removal of this girl from her parents, it would lead to further investigation and possible required classes/counseling for the parents to change their abusive behavior.

There are two options here. Not intervening which will result in nothing favorable for the girl. And intervening which could result in something favorable.

[gypsysoul]

I'm actually a lawyer who specializes in cases of child abuse and I agree with many of the views already expressed that this kind of behaviour (especially where the parents couldn't even control themselves in a large department store) is usually the tip of the iceberg. Alongside the physical hurt there is the more intangible but equally damaging emotional harm that comes with assaults.

I'm interested to read all your different views because it's made me realize that many people want to take action in these situations but may be unsure how best to do it. It's something I intend to look into once I'm back at work since I deal with social services often. They get anonymous referrals all the time but that's usually from neighbours. I'm not sure how they would deal with a situation like this.