Crying – listening to a neighbour whack her emotionally distraught young child ~ Lilly Hope Lucario

I look forward to the day they make hitting children illegal. Hitting your child is domestic violence. I am glad to see countries making it illegal – as France recently has.

One of my neighbours, was just whacking her child (again) – and I could hear the sound of the hits. Her already distraught child’s crying & sobbing – getting louder with every hit. He was literally screaming in the end.

I sat sobbing listening to it. I desperately wanted to go over there and take the child away from her. Give the child a huge hug and show him some much needed empathy and compassion.

I don’t care whether I am unpopular or not – I will say it – hitting your child is domestic violence.

I don’t care whether people want to label me ‘judgemental’. Yes – I am judging and discerning that hitting a child is not necessary for good parenting, and if you hurt your child by hitting them – then you are a child abuser.

If that mother was being hit by her partner – she could phone the police and get him arrested for assault and domestic violence. Yet, doing that to her child is ‘legal’. If I phone the police about a child getting hit, they will probably do nothing.

It’s disgusting.

How any parent can say they love their child – and then hurt them to the point they are sobbing and screaming – is disgusting. That is NOT love.