GA - Roger Stephens for slapping stranger's 2yo girl, Stone Mountain, 2009

[CuriousTwo]

Poor baby! I have to admit that screaming kids do get to me at times, but I feel like slapping the parents who let them just wail away - I can't imagine anyone slapping a baby, ever!

 

[PeteyGirl]

Wow - that mugshot. He looks like a miserable, unhappy person.

YOW!!

If he slapped my kid, he'd look miserable, unhappy, and in severe pain.

So I'd like to think . . . no doubt the mother was in utter shock. Who knows how you'd really react to something this outrageous?

I wonder why she did not immediately inform security after he made the verbal threat?

 

[WhyaDuck?]

YOW!!

If he slapped my kid, he'd look miserable, unhappy, and in severe pain.

So I'd like to think . . . no doubt the mother was in utter shock. Who knows how you'd really react to something this outrageous?

I wonder why she did not immediately inform security after he made the verbal threat?

She likely didn't process that he actually meant it. It's pretty outlandish.

 

[sissy's mom]

I was so >?>>???>>: MAD

when I hear this story:furious::furious::furious:


touch me but NEVER my kid

 

[Melanie]

Even sitting strapped in an airplane seat next to the loudest, most obnoxious two-year-old in the world, whose parents are reading magazines and ignoring the situation, you're not allowed to slap the baby. :nono:

Heck, you're not even allowed to slap adults just because they're loud and annoying.

Don't I know it -- coming off a plane from Seattle on Sunday where there was a crying child....all 2.5 hours. My first thought was "what can I do" -- I would never think of slapping the child, or parents (who I knew were frustrated). You should have seen my son on a flight home from the UK when he was 3. I almost left him in Customs (kidding of course).

 

[WhyaDuck?]

Every once in a while, some stranger will make faces, jingle keys, etc, when I am in public trying to get my toddler to calm down in order to help. It often does. Heaven bless those people!

 

[texasgirl2]

What!! If that was my baby, that man would have been leaving with an ice pack where the sun don't shine or worse.

I was thinking the same thing! I think I would have become the news story because I would have gone nuts on the guy!!

What is wrong with people?!

 

[mitzi]

He even looks mean. Poor child!

Yes, he sure does! What a kook! Poor baby. Hope they throw the book at him.

 

[raindrops300]

What rational person would think it would make a baby stop crying if you hit them? If this man has a wife/children, I really feel bad for them, as in how awful it must be to live with this man.

This is OT, but speaking of men standing by frozen reminded of a show I saw about people reactions in public. They staged, in a public park, a group of 12-13 year old boys picking on/bullying another boy - throwing his backpack etc. (it was pre-arranged) to see how adults in the park would react. They did this scene several times and in EVERY case it was a woman who came to the boys aid. Men just stood frozen, looking uncomfortable, but did nothing. Every time it was a woman who would step forward, get in the middle of it making them stop, asking who their parent were, etc. It was very interesting.

 

[Steely Dan]

What rational person would think it would make a baby stop crying if you hit them? If this man has a wife/children, I really feel bad for them, as in how awful it must be to live with this man.

This is OT, but speaking of men standing by frozen reminded of a show I saw about people reactions in public. They staged, in a public park, a group of 12-13 year old boys picking on/bullying another boy - throwing his backpack etc. (it was pre-arranged) to see how adults in the park would react. They did this scene several times and in EVERY case it was a woman who came to the boys aid. Men just stood frozen, looking uncomfortable, but did nothing. Every time it was a woman who would step forward, get in the middle of it making them stop, asking who their parent were, etc. It was very interesting.

Some guys were making a home movie and one scene had them fighting on the side of the road. Cars kept passing by and nobody did anything. Keifer Sutherland was driving by and stopped his Mercedes and got out to stop the fight and then he found out it was just for a movie.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

I am amazed that made it out of Walmart without getting the chit beat out of him by the mother and other customers! OMG!

 

[AmandaBrown23]

I was telling my husband that if this were me I would have mased him. Seriously I would have. I am not about to let anyone hit my kid once much less multiple times. I am in no way blaming that mom but I am just saying what I would have done.

 

[mysterygirl]

I know this is irrational and unwise. But I would have gone crazy. Security would have had to pull me off of him......I would have grabbed things on the shelves to hit him, gone for his eyes, he would have no feeling to his groin region..........of course this is all in my mind. I am sure the mother just went for her child to comfort the girl.

God this makes me so mad...........

 

[swanniee11]

There is no excuse, none, I don't care if he was trapped on a plane, trapped in an elevator. I don't even care if they were related. No excuse. none. This man makes me sick. I hope they throw the book at him.

 

[bogeygal]

Story on NG Show now.

This man faces up to 20 years in jail for 1st degree cruelty against a child. Good, if he gets the full twenty he'll be 81 when he gets out! (If he gets out).

Ok now Nancy's saying she thinks he won't get the full 20, more like a year/year and a half for this. Let's see what the judge/jury thinks about that.....He slapped this little girl several times, even once would be against the law.

 

[bogeygal]

According to Nancy, this man has a former DUI conviction.

 

[txsvicki]

I was telling my husband that if this were me I would have mased him. Seriously I would have. I am not about to let anyone hit my kid once much less multiple times. I am in no way blaming that mom but I am just saying what I would have done.

I would have maced him too, and worse. My husband said that he could only imagine what would have happened to someone who did that to one my babies while we were out shopping. I said that I always stayed so close to the basket that no one could have gotten near. This man could have caused brain damage to that baby, and I really hope she is okay.

 

[Lynn-ann]

Anything/Anyone threatens or harms my kids...berserker rage takes over (even though they're all grown up now...heh).

Same goes for my grandchildren...woe to anyone who riles up the wrath of this Nanna.

Incidentally, I've read that children often cry and grizzle in planes because their ears are much more sensitive to the air pressure changes so when I hear a crying child in a plane I feel sad as it's more than likely in pain. It even hurts my ears at times.

 

[DogMom2JoeAndWillie]

I know that this is off topic, but I would really like to know what type of advice you guys have to offer on this....What DOES work/help when you're trying to quiet a screaming child? I am not a parent (just a Dog Mama) and often find myself in public places with screaming/wailing kids whose parents don't even seem to notice. I mean, obviously slapping a kid isn't going to calm them down....they're just going to get even more upset because they're HURT in addition to being upset. I feel guilty sometimes because I GLARE at people who don't even TRY to calm/hush their kids. I just feel like people should try to make their kids happy and get them to quiet down if they're screaming...and if that doesn't work, they should LEAVE until the child is calm/quiet. Obviously people aren't that considerate....they're just gonna stand in the middle of the grocery store, movie theater, gas station, etc. and let the screaming drive us all insane....and I'm guessing that when I glare at them it makes them actually ENCOURAGE the screaming....so really, what's the best thing for us childless people to do? HOW DO YOU MAKE IT STOP?!?!
I know that babies cry and that it's normal for them to get upset sometimes...but there HAS to be a way to make them happy/quiet without assaulting anyone or having to use a tranquilizer gun.

 

[WhyaDuck?]

I know that this is off topic, but I would really like to know what type of advice you guys have to offer on this....What DOES work/help when you're trying to quiet a screaming child? I am not a parent (just a Dog Mama) and often find myself in public places with screaming/wailing kids whose parents don't even seem to notice. I mean, obviously slapping a kid isn't going to calm them down....they're just going to get even more upset because they're HURT in addition to being upset. I feel guilty sometimes because I GLARE at people who don't even TRY to calm/hush their kids. I just feel like people should try to make their kids happy and get them to quiet down if they're screaming...and if that doesn't work, they should LEAVE until the child is calm/quiet. Obviously people aren't that considerate....they're just gonna stand in the middle of the grocery store, movie theater, gas station, etc. and let the screaming drive us all insane....and I'm guessing that when I glare at them it makes them actually ENCOURAGE the screaming....so really, what's the best thing for us childless people to do? HOW DO YOU MAKE IT STOP?!?!
I know that babies cry and that it's normal for them to get upset sometimes...but there HAS to be a way to make them happy/quiet without assaulting anyone or having to use a tranquilizer gun.

Since you couldn't offer them a snack, the best bet is to amuse or distract them. Babies tend to love faces, so you could try smiling or wiggling your eyebrows. Or waving. Sometimes, strangers doing this can scare them, but often it does distract them and keep them quiet for a bit.

And as a mom of a toddler, I do agree that leaving when the child simply can't be consoled is often the best course of action. However, if you have already gotten your groceries, or whatever, sometimes you just have to wait in the line until you can go. If I stopped grocery shopping every time my son cried or whined in a store, we'd have starved by now.