I Witnessed Child Abuse in a Wal-Mart Parking Lot

by Amanda
(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA)

This is not my story, but that of a small boy that I personally witnessed and subsequently reported to the state police!

On the 15th day of November in 2007, I left work at approximately 6:45 pm. I decided to go to my local Wal-Mart. As I was walking in, I saw a young boy of no more than 3 or 4 years of age having a toddler meltdown as so many kids do. He was crying and sitting on the ground. This mother, if you could even call her that, yelled over from her car, "Get your mother-f@^*ing ass in the F@^*ing car, now!" I, appalled by this, stood around the corner and watched what was to unfold. She then proceeded to walk over to him and yanked him up by one arm and dragged him to the car, where she slammed him into his car-seat. As he began to cry more frantically, she repeatedly slammed him against the rear of the seat, which in turn made him cry harder. She then grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him vigorously. As you can imagine, he continued to cry in fear and with true distress in his voice. After buckling his belt, she then pulled back and slammed this baby across the face with such force that you could see him and the whole car-seat shift.

At this point, I lost all self control and emerged from the corner, yelling at her. I told her she was done, and that I had every intention of reporting her to the police. As she then frantically grabbed the rest of her items to place in the car, with more care than her own baby, I walked over to the car to get her licence plate number. Another onlooker, appalled at what we had both witnessed, gave me her information to give to the dispatcher on the other end of the phone line. The woman, now completely aware that more than one person had seen her despicable actions, put her car in reverse. Yes, she backed out of the lot so as to keep her licence plate hidden. Little did this poor excuse for a human being know that I had already taken the plate number down.

I only have to add one other point to this story...throughout this whole ordeal, another boy about 6 or 7 years of age sat quietly in the back seat, playing a hand-held game. This sadly shows how immune this other child was to his own mother's disgusting behaviors! How very grossly sad a life these children have. How sad that the one person who is supposed to comfort and protect them has such little self control. How sad that she has robbed them of the trust a mother should just know how to give.

I myself have 2 babies, one who is 3 years old and the other 19 months old. It is not always easy, but I could never hurt my child like that. I talk to them like little adults and explain why things sometimes can't be what they want them to be. I believe that they will be good-natured and well-rounded adults. When I feel myself getting short, I take a second to think about how to deal and push through the rough patches. Such is life.

I will pray for this baby and many others like him every night! God bless his little soul.

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