So, I get that the kid shouldn't have been given the candy, but also, it's really not your place to parent other peoples children. You have no idea what that woman had on her plate that day. Are her actions systematically creating a problem child? Yes, definitely. But did your action actually help? No, probably not. Probably you just put more stress on a mother who clearly already can't deal with her child's fits. Sure, you punished the child once, but consistantly is extremely important when it comes to altering behaviors. That's why small but consistent consequences have a larger impact than one huge punishment. Sure, a punishment might be enough to deter someone's bad behavior even if it only happens once, but probably not if the punishment is "don't get the thing you were told no about after you threw a fit" that's the sort if thing that has an excellent effect when consistent. However doing it one time will only cause temporary unhappiness, with no long term return on investment.
Completely agree, you can never know what a parent or anybody for that matter is going through and kids can definitely be a handful sometimes- which doesn't mean they're like that all the time. I really don't get the point in people doing stuff like this to parents who are obviously struggling with their kids no matter what the reason. It just creates a bigger problem for both the people involved and the onlookers and doesn't solve absolutely anything. Seems like it's just pure spite.
He is not a genius. It's not that clever to do this, similar stories have been circulating for a while. And I don't this his suggestion of "slap the shit out of him" is good parenting either.
As for the parent, there isn't much here to say. I think any rational person realizes this is poor parenting. I don't really know what else to say. If your child is throwing a fit to get what they want, absolutely do not give in to them. By the time the child is old enough to know better and control their actions (so, like 2 years, give or take a few months depending on the child) then you should also add an additional consequence for the bad behavior (ie. Not getting any candy, have to go sit in the car, if the kid is old enough don't allow then to come next time)
I suppose I we could speculate what sort of issues lead to this point. Is this parent young and lacking supports go help then learn to parent well? Does this person struggle with conflict? Maybe she has too much on her plate.
The fact is we don't know. I am not saying by any means these are good actions. They aren't. But sometimes you don't need a good solution, you just need a solution. Without knowing more of the circumstance we can't really say anything constructive.
Kid probably wouldn't have liked it anyway.
As for the parent, there isn't much here to say. I think any rational person realizes this is poor parenting. I don't really know what else to say. If your child is throwing a fit to get what they want, absolutely do not give in to them. By the time the child is old enough to know better and control their actions (so, like 2 years, give or take a few months depending on the child) then you should also add an additional consequence for the bad behavior (ie. Not getting any candy, have to go sit in the car, if the kid is old enough don't allow then to come next time)
I suppose I we could speculate what sort of issues lead to this point. Is this parent young and lacking supports go help then learn to parent well? Does this person struggle with conflict? Maybe she has too much on her plate.