Depends on what you call abuse. Spanking yes, beating, no. Nothing anyone would have arrested them for. I just gave them a nasty look when I walked by. If they had been beating the kid or something like that I would have gotten the store manager ASAP and also called 911 on my cel phone to report it.

I've witnessed it AND was a victim of it. (sad) It's a horrifying scene. Don't really want to bring back memories but you get the idea.

Yes I saw a woman mistreating her child, I freaked on her, I told her if she wants to be treated with respect later on,then she should be best treating her off spring with respect. BE NICE! ugh..( no wonder some old age people never get visits.)

I saw a dad dragging a little girl around. She was crying and he kept screaming and pulling. Her arms were bruised from his hands and her legs were all scratched up and bleeding from being dragged. I tried to tell him to take it easy on the child. He tells me that it's none of my concern, then got a security guard so I'd stay away. Poor girl was covered in bruises, dirty, and just looked miserable. I tried to get the security guy to call the cops, but he didn't think it was anything to worry about.

When I was a kid & out in public with my mom & brother, she had noticed a parent abusing their child a couple times. She'd call Child Protective Services, I think with the license plate #. Don't think that really did anything though.

Yes i have, in India its common for a parent to slap the child/ hit the child with a stick etc. This was long back that my dad and me were walking by this street when a parent had pulled out his kid to the road and was hitting him with a stick, i was maybe 12-13 years old.. but my dad went up to the parent and asked him to keep such encounters within the house and not on the street. My dad is not the kind who believes in physical abuse of the child.

Yes, and I will not let it happen. The last time I saw near abuse, I was at an airport and a woman was about to hit her child. I caught her arm mid air and told her that what ever she did to her child I would do to her. I actually got an applause from the people at waiting for thier luggage.

1. We were on a vacation in Italy. Two very fat women were sitting at a table at an outside cafe in the summer eating ice cream happily, when I noticed that next to them was a stroller with a little girl in it that had been faced AWAY from the table. She was crying because they weren't sharing their ice cream with her! Discusted with this my friend walked over and knelt down in front of the stroller and gently placed her hand on the little girl's hand and began to softly console her and wipe her tears away. The women noticed and were embarrassed and turned the stroller towards their table and gave her some ice cream. I think her gentle approach was effective because it didn't put the ladies on the defense yet ended the little girl's unecessisary suffering.

Not abusing in public. I've seen parents abusing their kids in private--not physically, by the way--and disciplining (including spanking) in public, but not "abusing in public."

Yes. I cried. It was me.

yes and I was temporarily detained..the law does work in mysterious ways sometimes

I did, I stopped her and told her if she ever hit her daughter again because she was angry with her husband I would put a permanent stop to it. A whack on the hand or rear after a child runs into the street or away from the car in a busy parking lot is one thing but to punch and kick a child (about 10 or 11) while trapped up against a car is another. She, the parent said that she was angry at the husband because they "didn't spend enough time together". I gave the girl my card, warned the mom and filed a report with the sheriff.

Ladies and Gentlemen (and you too DD :)) it appears that DannyJ has left the building. Thank you for your support, and lets all to our best to prevent people that should no procreate (I'm not going to mention names) from abusing children. Also shouts out to all of you for helping to prevent abuse and the cycle of violence. Hugs to all (but one)!

About a year ago I was at a hotel and I heard a rumor that a woman let her little boy drink beer, and since I'm interested in electronics I decided to do a little spying and so I sneaked a camera into her room. I war later shocked to see her complete disregard to her sons health, so I called the police and had her arrested with proof of the act via a recorded video tape. Unfortunately though I was later arrested on the misdemeanor of invading her privacy, but I think the ends justify the means.

Yes. ... in a shopping mall ... A mother slapped her daughter's face, fairly hard, and was about to slap again when I caught her wrist and pinched a painful nerve. I then put on my "mean" face, pointed my finger at the brat kid and with my most booming voice, said, "Your mother is part right, you need to learn more discipline, you are a very bad brat." Then I quickly turned back to the mother and said, "and YOU need to learn a better way to teach her discipline ... good day, maam." ... and I walked away, without looking back ...

call to police, in other contry the police

Usually i stare really hard.. and if they keep up i say something. i see it so much that it pisses me off. kids don't know that they are making you mad. they just know that thier actions create reactions.

yes i have and it was when i was at an airport and a woman was about to hit her child. I caught her arm mid air and told her that what ever she did to her child I would do to her and I actually got an applause from the people at waiting for thier luggage. how cool is that i felt so brave

Yes, and I feel awful about my reaction, or lack thereof. I was staying at Circus-Circus in Vegas, walked out of my room one morning to take the elevator down, and there was a family of rednecks (sorry, no PC way to describe them) arguing. The father, obviously already drunk at 9am, starting yelling at his 4- or 5-year old son and then starting shoving and hitting him. We were actually pretty terrified, and just walked back to our room to wait until they had left. Looking back, I know I should have intervened somehow, and I still feel awful that I didn't. But initiating a confrontation with drunken rednecks is not high on my list of World's Safest Activities. I know from experience.

I saw some parents trying to drag their kid on to a ride at an amusement park. The kid was screaming bloody murder and holding on to the rail for dear life. The mother started hitting him. I was kind of in shock of what was going on. One of the park security guards came over and threw them off of the ride and asked them what the hell was wrong with them. The crowd cheered.

Well, I am only 10, So i couldnt do much, butonce Isaw Awoman screaming at her child ad trowing her about, she was 2. the 2 yr old was screaing in terror and pain, so i ran up and grabed the little kid, pulled heraway fromhere um andnoified the police, then she got a big warning and Imade sure to notify childlineand since hen I have no ideawhatthe family has been doing.. I havnt seen the little girl since thetho

If it looks exessive i always try to interfear. I remember it happening as a child, and wondering why nobody would help me. I think we all have a duty to help childern who cannot help themselves.

Do you consider it abusive to bring a child to a violent movie? I saw a movie a long time ago called "Ransom" and it involved a LOT of violence and a little guy kidnapped and treated badly. Definitely R rated stuff and this guy has all his kids with him at a 10PM showing -- I could not enjoy the movie thinking about what those kids experienced but allowed myself to be talked out of giving him a piece of my mind -- I would have behaved differently now...

when i was 13 my father dragged me across a gravel roadm threatening to kill me if i didnt get into the car. he was trying to take me to the police station and have me arrested because he thought i was one child too many. i was bleeding, had scratches and bruises all over my body and was screaming for help and noone came, even though there were close to 20 people in the area. ive never been able to forgive those strangers and intervene whenever i think its necessary.

Yes. I was in the mall parking lot, and I saw a man holding about a 7 or 8 year old girl up against the car and he was slapping his face. The poor little boy was crying and screaming and his face was red. So, I went over to the man and shoved him up against his car and started slapping HIS face. The man started to yell, and I said, there is absolutly no need to treat a child like that. And just because he's young, doesn't mean he isn't human!!! Then I gave the little boy my card and I told him that if. his dad ever did that to him again, that he is welcome to call me. Then I gave the man a dirty look, and walked away.

While living with my dad in Manitoba after he rented a new apartment, I went outside to explore the environs. Some days later I met a girl named Amanda, I think she was maybe a year younger then me. So we were playing around during the morning, I barely spoke or understood any English then but we managed, and near noon she invited me to her place to have lunch with her or something, so I follow her into this huge rooming house, on the last floor. She opens the door to her apartment, and some crazy old looking lady with gray hair, presumably her mother or grandmother, appears in the doorway, yanks the door open, grabs the girl by the side of her neck and with her other hand, she had this huge black leather belt and she fucking smacked her RIGHT in the face with it! She was yelling and screeching at her daughter, violently pulled her inside and slammed the door shut right in my face, like as if I wasn't even there. This happened SO fast, like as if her mom saw her out the window or something and was waiting for her. I was like, omgwtf. I went back home and told my dad, he didn't say very much but he looked pretty sad. I was kinda wanting him to do something about it, but I pretty much understood that he really couldn't do much. Guess he could have phoned somebody or something, but he just warned me to try and be careful. And at my age, there's nothing I could have done. :/ What's weird is I'm pretty sure I re-met her years later when we were teenagers. I always used to go hang out at this park, and she lived right besides it, I guess they moved. The way she looked could have easily been the younger girl from before, short and skinny with curly black hair. This older girl was also named Amanda, and she was extremely violent, even all the boys were scared of her lol. People at the park kept warning me not to piss her off before we started talking. Also, she never wanted to talk about her mother, or ever invited anyone to her house and dismissed the suggestion when someone made it, so I think that the last two indicates that it probably WAS her that I met years before. I saw her mother in the building by the park once, sticking her head out of the door and telling me Amanda couldn't come out, and it strangely looked like the women from before, but this one was younger and had black hair, not gray. Maybe the first time it was the grandmother and this was the mother, I don't know. The memories are actually pretty vague, and maybe in my head I just wanted her to be the younger girl from before to make sure she wasn't dead lol. But she didn't seem to remember me from before when we re-met at the park, and I was too afraid to ask her about it, so I was never sure. Wait, that was way too long. XD

No I havent but if i did I would probs report them.

yep. Me. countless times in public restrooms and a few times in grocery stores.

Yes. I saw the same lady on the same bus two days in a row. Both times her little boy sat next to me and would not leave with her when she went to get off. He pressed himself against me, because he had seen me catch his eye the first day and looked like he'd been hit and his eyes were sill wet. She hit him in front of me the second day I saw them and I told her if I ever saw her again, I would report her to the police after I beat the crap out of her first. She said it wasn't any of my business and she hadn't done anything anyway. I told her I just made it my business. The little boy thanked me very quietly as they got off the bus. She wasn't bothering his sister.

yes ... and as i recall the man didn't get up or a while after i'd finished.

Indeed I have... Once I said something, she brought race issues into it. So I walked over to her, stood over the top of her, stared her directly in the eyes and told her that if her race knew how to properly look after their kids, we wouldn't always have to take them from them and you wouldn't see them all through welfare. She didn't like it, but said nothing as I intimidated the hell out of her. She grabbed her kid and took off down the street.

I bought the kid the thing he wanted, then told his mother she was a C-U-Next-Tuesday;)

Yes, this lady was at a store with about an eight month old little girl in her cart. The baby grabbed something off a shelf and the lady hauled off and smacked the baby across the face right in front of me. I went up to the lady who knew that I had seen what she had done. I yelled at her, "If this is how you treat your baby in public, how do you treat her at home?!" An employee heard me yelling and I told him to go get a manager and to call the police, right away. I stood there with the woman until the loss provention workers came and took her and the baby in their office. Apparently, they caught the whole thing on camera. I don'tknow what happened after giving my statement to the police. All I know is that smacking an innocent baby across the face is something that should never be done. I should have hauled off and smacked her but I didn't want to scare the baby anymore then necessary.

I do believe in spanking, not everyone does today. But that is the limit. I am so surprised by todays standards!!! 20 years ago there was no such thing as ADD, but medications are now the solution. Back then, spanking was and we turned out all right!

no I haven't but if I did I would call the police immediately. spanking is one thing but beating is another. I probably would not call for a spanking but a beating or hitting with an object or punching or hitting the child then yes I would call the cops.

I saw it once when I was really young and didn't do anything because I didn't know what to do and once again a couple of years ago but it happened really fast and they walked away really fast and I wasn't close enough to them anyways.

Yes, I called 911 immediately. The cops were there in a heart beat. I saw an elderly grandmother backhand her toddler grandson right in the face.

Yes. My own cousin was abused as an infant but she had the love of her other relatives to remain stable enough to this day. I was only 11 at the time and her mother actually picked her up by the arm only!.. then slammed her in the shopping cart. She started crying of course! When her mother wasn't looking I went in the baby bag, gave her a bottle and hugged her. She then stopped crying.. I did this a lot to my baby cousin and so did other relatives because she was abused and now goes through verbal abuse.

Her mom would sue us

Yes. I saw a mother screaming at her little girl in the mall. I went over and got into her personal space and just stared at her. She stopped. If I saw the same thing today, I'd call the cops.

Nothing... it's none of my business because what is abuse in one mind is not abuse in another. I get annoyed by the kind of person that runs around with an "Im better then" chip on their shoulder that takes pride and pleasure in calling everyone out without first thinking about the long term effects of their actions to everyone BUT them and their pride. yeah, great, pin a rose on their chest for saving a child from a beating that they may very well have deserved... but don't plan on being around to see the cause and effects play themselves out in the life of that child as he or she gets taken away and put into a horrible system that neither protects them or gives a sh*it about anything other than protocol and rules and regulations. they in more cases then not they themselves dont follow for the excuse of a lack of manpower! When I was younger, about 7 or 8... I used to get a metal tipped ruler taken to my bare ass by a male gym teacher for cursing on the bus... It was legal correction in those days... how does a few years change that, a stranger being able to beat your kids in public, to nothing at all being acceptable and creating a fear of ever repremanding your kids at all because some self righteous nut job calls the cops on your for spanking your kids in walmart because they are screaming and ranting and raving like lunatics and you are at your wits end and fed up? and do you think the child would rather take the beating? or get taken away from their home and their family? What would make more sense to the child? A spanking for doing something wrong or possibly not seeing their parents again for doing somethng wrong? Think people... think full circle before you do!

Yes, and I embarrassed the woman in front of the entire restaurant!!! And then I ordered the wait staff to call the police. The woman left before police could arrive. And I would GLADLY do it again.

I FREAKING LAUGHED SO HARD I CRYED

Most definitely. Even if someone didn't step in physically, just bringing attention to the problem will probably embarrass the parent and cause them to stop.

Be careful of how you react to a parent, what you do could make it wrose for the child. Most people dont realize, but stepping in when a parent is smacking their child in the store could lead to way worse things for that child when they get home. The best thing is asses what is really going on. Is the parent really going to hurt the child. And I dont mean make them cry, but really hurt them. If they are going to really be hurt, by what is taking place, by all means step in. But if the mother is just doing enough to make the child cry or enough to get them to obey, then there is two choices. Do nothing or destract the parent. Say something like "I just love your hair" or shirt or what ever, use something to get their attention off of the child and on to you. Ask them if they know where something is in the store. Use good judment. I think a parent has the right to spank their child, but not beat their kids. If I seen a mom give her child a swat in the store I wouldnt do anything, in fact I swat my kids if they need it. But if I seen a parent over doing it, and possible abuse but not sure, I would interupt and distract them. It could just be a bad day and stress they are having. And If I point out what a bad parent they are being, that would only add to the stress and proabably the child to be in even more trouble once they got home. But if I thought they were really going to hurt them , I am bardging in and im going to give them a piece of my mind and call the cops.

I've seen it many times, and it always feels like I'm the one getting smacked. I have a negative physical reaction when witnessing violence particularly violence between non-equals. My first experience with this was when I was eleven at the 72St Subway Station in New York City. I had just been talking to a Rabbi from our temple. I Started down the stairs to the subway, and a man was slapping a boy about my age. he had him by the collar of his coat, and was backhanding him with the other hand. I yelled at him to stop, but he just turned to me and said "you're next" I ran back up the stairs, caught up to Rabbi Kaufman, and told him what was happening. We both ran back to the stairwell where the guy was now punching the child who was on the ground bleeding. Rabbi Kaufman put his own body between the man and the boy and said "STOP" the man pushed past the Rabbi and ran away. It turned out the man was no relation to the boy, but had become mad when the boy brushed against him in the crowd. Rabbi Kaufman went to see the boy at Knickerbocker Hospital, he later told me the boy might have died without intervention. Oh Yeah, the stairway where all this happened was crowded with adults who just walked around these people.

yer there was this girl she was eight and she accidentally bumped into a police man. she said sorry immidiatly and the man just smiled and didn't mind but the mother started yelling at the girl. the police man said it was fine but the mum slapped the girl and pulled her by her hair to their car and took her nan's cuase the mother was so embarrassed i know becuase that girl was me

I was in my car stopped at a traffic light what I saw as a female approx 20 to 25 yrs/o crossing the street infront of my vehicle pulling and I mean pulling the child by her left arm, child female 2 to 3 yrs/o...it was raining lightly and that is when the woman closed her umbrella and started hitting the child in the legs to get her to move faster........needless to say I followed her, and I let her know I was following her, to a house that she entered, fortunately for her I was off duty, but within 2 minutes I had a police assistance there and within 25 minutes Division of Youth and Family Services arrived. I could not intervine myself because I had my gun with me as I was off shift and returning home. It turned out she was the babysitter..........The parents pressed charges. I would do it again and again when a kid of that age or any age is seemingly in danger I have no problem making it my business.

THIS IS A VRY TOUCHY SUBJECT IF I HAD A GUT FEELING THAT SHE WAS WRONG I WOULD CONFRONT HER AND OH-WELL IF SHE DIDN'T LIKE IT CHILDREN DON'T DESERVE THE PARENTS ACTING OUT FROM THERE OWN STRESS AND THIS IS HAPPENING MORE AND MORE FOR ME USE YOU GUT FEELING TO REACT HOPE THIS HELPS

Sorry I answered the wrong question so i've edited it out opps.