OLD MAN SLAPS CHILD IN WALMART

Ok, it's one of those mornings when baby is fussy but you have to go to the store and an old man walks up and slaps your child in Walmart. Not exactly a great way to kick off the day. This might seem like a fictional report of a friend's bad dream or perhaps a nightmare of your own. However, this scenario played itself out in a Walmart store in Georgia.

A 61 year old guy named Roger Stephens apparently got enough of a little 2 year old girl's crying and (alledgedly) told her to shut the child up or he would do it.

As kids are so prone to do, the little girl kept crying which reportedly prompted Stephens to make good on his threat. It was reported that he (as gran used to say) rared back and slapped her not once but four times. He then had the brass to tell her mom, who was no doubt standing there gaping in shock, "See, I told you I could (or would?) shut her up". To quote Whoopie Goldberg, "WHAT THE HELL"?!

To follow up, Mr. Stephens was picked up, arrested and charged on Monday on a first degree cruelty to children charge. Before his arrest (or perhaps because of the impending?) he apologized to the mother for slapping her little girl. My questions is what kind of man slaps a child in Walmart or anywhere for that matter?

I tried to get a mental picture of my husband slapping one of our girls and I couldn't. We just don't discipline our children in that way. The image of anybody hitting a child in the face or anywhere is appalling to me because. It's my belief that violence never solves anything but creates bigger problems for the long haul. I'm not a fan of violence, but you better know that any man who slaps my child in Walmart or anywhere else better be expecting it. This peaceful mama would break out a big can of ass whipping like you wouldn't believe!

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THE I PLEDGE VIDEO - HOW SHOULD WE FEEL?

Frankly, I can’t say how I feel about the I PLEDGE video until I study it and give it a lot of thought. There is more work to do for a parent than to analyze the actual content of the video. First, let me go on the record as saying that I don’t like the idea of political messages being directed at my children while they are at school.

The question was brought up at a play date this morning whether or not the video had a political agenda. I'm not usually concerned with politics but I like to be informed on current events so I figured I had better check out some of the opinions on the I Pledge video posted by people who are more involved and intelligent than yours truly.
My findings were that President Obama’s speech seemed to be standard political fare asking the viewers to be more patriotic, responsible and helpful in nature. Then the celebrities are seen making pledges about how they plan to support the president and do their part in helping the world and that’s where the film became problematic and at times kind of goofy.

Some of the celebrity pledges shown in the I Pledge video concerned helping out in food banks, being more cheerful and helping the elderly population which I can jump on board with in a big way. And then there was the pledge not to shoot the bird to our fellow travelers on the roads which is a small contribution to world peace, but I’m not sure I want my kids to hear about adults giving the finger at school as I exercise restraint when I’m driving to keep them innocent as long as possible.

And then there are the more leading pledges that leave me scratching my head namely the one about the celeb promoting stem cell research and selling their old gas burner to buy a more fuel efficient hybrid. For one thing most kids know very little if anything about stem cell research and beyond being told they can’t use the car could not possibly care less about fuel efficient transportation.
Many pledges, such as supporting local food banks, smiling more, and caring for the elderly are not controversial. But other pledges, such as "to never give anyone the finger when I’m driving again", "to sell my obnoxious car and buy a hybrid" and to advance stem cell research some say cross the line. The question at hand is not whether these pledges or statements are harmful, because most of the stuff that I’ve read was in the I Pledge video is pretty mundane stuff other than the subject of stem cell research. The bigger issue is whether the children should be politically influenced at school.

Return to Oooh Baby Baby Parenting, Family and Environmental Issues to see what ladies in my neighborhood think about this video being shown in public schools.