Anyone with a child has been there. You are walking through the store and your child is in one of THOSE moods. They are throwing a fit, crying, whining. It is embarrassing for the parent and annoying for those shopping. It used to bother me, now I am just grateful that, at that moment, it isn’t one of my children. Now imagine a stranger getting so upset with your child crying a they walk up and slap them! This actually happened just outside Atlanta, GA.
Sonya Matthews was walking with her 2-year-old daughter, Paige, who happened to be having a rough day. She was crying and throwing a fit. Roger Stephens, a 61-year-old man, was on the same aisle and became very upset with the crying. He told Matthews, “If you don’t shut that baby up, I will”. Paige continued to cry, so Stephens walked up and slapped her four to five times. He then looked at Matthews and told her, “See, I told you I would shut her up!”
I could not even imagine that happening! Matthews began yelling at him and other customers got security after he was tackled and held down. Stephens was then arrested and charged with cruelty to a child, which is a felony. Luckily there was no physical injuries to Paige, besides her cheeks being red.
If this were to happen to your child, how would you handle it? How could you possibly get a 2-year-old to understand what had just happened to them? Is Paige going to be terrified every time she is taken to a Wal-Mart? I don’t know how I would handle this with my kids, even if they only witnesses the abuse.
(Image courtesy of CrunchGear)
