Seconded.
To quote from the earlier story:
It’s not merely a word v. word case between an adult and a child: there are witnesses to the whole event.
Funny you should mention this; just this afternoon, I was out in my front yard poking around my new plants when school was letting out. Some young boys walking by decided to yell stuff at me; nothing terrible, just stupid - “Hey - do you like Slurpees?” I didn’t really know how to react; I’m not keen on answering stupid stuff yelled at me by pre-teen idiots feeling all big because there’s a group of them, so I just stared at them and then ignored them and went on with my day. It struck me funny, though; I don’t know what they hoped to accomplish, and I didn’t really know what to do with it. I didn’t like it much, I can tell you that, though - I prefer kids that walk by to mind their own damn business.
Totally agreed. I draw into question a parent’s competence when they express such sentiments as the “don’t touch my child for any reason” nonsense
Taking a stick off the hands of several of the kids I used to birthday-sit when they were ten would have required “manhandling” them. There were two brothers I used to have to lift by their necks in order to be able to bring them home, otherwise they’d kick me black-and-blue. Two brothers, two trips from wherever the birthday was to their house, so you can’t say the mother wasn’t noticing 
I stopped birthday sitting on the day when two things happened:
- the eldest of the Barn brothers was already big enough to kick me when I had him by the neck and,
- the mother of the birthday boy, instead of thanking me, told me to thank my mother - whose legs were not sporting several bruises the next day, she hadn’t even been there.
As far as I’m concerned, that kid is lucky he didn’t get paddled, and that guy is a good citizen.
If some ten-year old hit a hockey puck anywhere near my daughter, when we were on an open rink, he’d get a talking-to. If he continued, and sure as hell drag his ass off to rink management.
What the hell was a kid doing being allowed to hit a hockey puck on the same rink people were skating at, anyway? Don’t rinks round your way only allow such things at certain hockey-only times? Our rink does.
It’s an open hockey skate for kids and families. Not a game or organized team practice, but you’ll see groups of kids (and parents) practicing passing the puck around in a circle, or (my favorite, it’s so cute) little 4 year olds practicing skating around in goalie pads. There’s enough room to spread out so unless you’re trying, there’s not much risk of pelting someone with a puck - when I was a kid (at the precursor to this particular rink), there was a rule about “no slap shots” during open hockey skate. Hockey is a big deal in this area, and kids start early.
All the stick grabbers would be in for a surprise when they learned that at common law grabbing that stick would count as an assault and/or battery, so that’s not a solution. Traditionally, children were seen as a chattel for a reason and this is that reason. I say take that stick and break it over his ass right there in front of everyone.
Sounds like the kids in my neighbourhood. There’s been several times where I’m walking home, minding my own business, when a group of kids (hanging around right by my place, which is a rant in and of itself when they’re acting up) call out rude things to me. One time I had kids, they couldn’t have been more than early teens, suggesting sexual things to me. I’m not a small woman, and I can generally handle myself, but with 5-6 of them around they make me very uncomfortable. Most of the older kids in my neighbourhood are like that, and the younger ones are growing up to be just like that.
I don’t think he should’ve grabbed the kid. I think he should’ve gotten himself and his son off the ice and gone to find a rink rat (in the smaller arena’s here, it’s the rink rats who are in charge and if there is a concession they might have an idea of where they are or where to look for them. Otherwise the bigger multi-purpose centres have a manager around).
As a pre-teen, I grew up on a block where I would have the same results as danceswithcats and Diogenes the Cynic. When we moved, the new neighborhood was much more of an “don’t you dare scold my child” place. If we mouthed off as a pre-teen, my parents would find out about it faster than any current email / text-messaging. I think they all had a psychic connection. As a teen in a different neighborhood, many families were gunshy from the “my child can do no wrong” contingent, and wouldn’t say anything (which was good, because my parents knew I could and would do minor wrongs).
I guess I am a bad parent by some of your standards but if either of my kids was caught endangering others as that boy was I would thank any parent that touched them to remove them from the situation, not sue them. And I would have no problem escorting (rather than “dragging”) some one else’s child away to stop their harmful actions.
Absolutely!
What’s that quote from some movie or other? “We live in a society!!!” I find the idea that children are exempt from, er, direct manipulation, by anyone other than their parents to be bizarre.
Marienee makes a good point, and maybe it’s my relatively rural upbringing, but I would not question at all someone enforcing safety and/or appropriate public behavior by physically moving a kid, if verbal communication didn’t work.
I lived in Queens, NY as a pre-teen, as far from rural as you can get. I think it is generational, as now that I’m back in Queens, I don’t see it. It might be a neighborhood characteristic, though.
Every state is different. In New York State it is assault to place your hands on someone without their prior consent. This was pounded into our heads during E.M.T. training. If you are denied consent, you may NOT touch a potential patient or risk arrest. The charge was going to be Battery.
That simple. You DO NOT touch another person. What is interesting about AirmanDoorsUSAF’s response is that if his spouse did not share that point of view and wanted to call the police, he would be helpless to stop her. A minor in the care of either or both parents is under the care of whomever takes charge. If he approved of restraint but Mom did not, Mom would be within her legal rights to press charges.
It might make things sticky around the house of course, but Mom ( or Dad ) would not be compelled to ignore the law just because of the opinions of a spouse.
Cartooniverse
I see no problem in dragging the brat off the ice, I do see a problem with (and a touch of fear) the attitude that “Oh Heavens, you shan’t ever talk to myyyy child when little angelkins does something wrong, I’m the only one thats allowed to take away his playstation as punishment for 30 minutes.” Puhlease, I remember my childhood, and the reason I didn’t do something wrong was because I was afraid of punishment. Not hugs and kisses and cupcake sprinkles.
The thought that immediately sprung to my mind was Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, where the children are completely unruly and travel about in mobs,killing at will, because society has evolved into such a place. How much longer before we have plasma tv walls?
That’s why I don’t want to be around any kids of any age. You’re too late, they already know the score. You have to take their abuse or all they have to do is tell somebody you touched them and you can’t prove you didn’t. The genie is out of the bottle and the kids hold the stopper.
This makes me sick. What if the brat had hit the small child? A blow that an adult can stand could kill a small child or injure them badly. Why wasn’t the brat charged with assault? He hit the adult three times!
I think I’ll start a new thread about this. I have a terrible plan for dealing with this kind of thing … :eek: 
The story isn’t over yet.
In every case, without exception? What if someone is assaulting you? Doesn’t that imply consent?