I've cracked another person for hitting his own kid (and I mean he knocked a tooth loose and drew blood from the boy). I'd do at least as much (and likely more) to someone hurting my kids (or wife). I'd hope that most people would.

Responding with a reasonable level of force against a previous (and illegal) forceful action is entirely justified - certainly in law and in generally accepted morals.

I just went by what you said, dude.

So another option, say, removing your child immediately from danger. That wouldn't be your first impulse. Check, gotcha.

then the people who told you that are the idiots.
really? how do they know this? what would they have witnessed from their incident that would lead them to believe they are protected by you?

---------- Post added at 10:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:59 PM ----------

yes there is. it tells the rest of the world not to jack with your child.

Sure it would. How is incapacitating the attacker not removing the child from danger?

Exactly. MM is a woman, and indeed perhaps the best option for a woman would be to remove the child from the situation. She may not be physically strong enough or experienced enough (in terms of physical confrontations) to do otherwise.

But for those who are stronger, more experienced, etc., taking more forceful action to minimize or prevent harm is perhaps a better route.

People posting here should take into account people's differing physical and emotional abilities in terms of dealing with stuff like this.

slap the shit out of your kids, seriously, the only reason they cry out of emotional distress instead of legitimate reasons is lack of conditioning. My dad always told me "stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about"

he was right, I had no reason to cry over spilled chocolate milk, or not getting a toy I want. That kind of immaturity needs to go away or you wind up with adults with an inflated sense of entitlement.

that said, it wasn't his role to perform such an action.

Oh come on lol. Children are supposed to cry - Especially 2-year-old babies. Granted, tantrums require special attention, but crying in general is perfectly acceptable.

Late to the party, but this thread has gone crazy. No one has the right to touch anyone's child under any circumstance. Period.

Crying? No big deal. Whining and crying tantrum? Most likely poor parenting. A two year old understands expectation. If a parent tells the child that he/she expects the child will behave in a store before they enter and are removed at the onset of a tantrum, this scenario would never have occurred.

If someone struck my child, I'm not quite sure how I'd react. Shock most likely. I might feel like attacking him and be angry and say something nasty. But I truly can't see myself in this position because if my child had been crying in a store, it would've been because something hurt and she would have been in my arms. ;)

Although it's got nothing to do with the OP, there are more ways to discipline than through hitting. Hitting is a stress reliever for the parent and the kid learns nothing of value.

As a child and teen, I was slapped in the face by my mother on a consistent basis, whipped on the bare ass by my father yet continued the very behavior my parents were trying to stop. I feared them but didn't respect them and learned that if I kept up the negative behavior, I'd at least have their attention for a moment. They didn't know any better as they'd been beaten as kids, too.

I also witnessed firsthand another family's discipline through love, respect and teaching. I've adapted this approach and have found it to be quite effective.

Turning your back on a two year old sitting in a cart in the middle of the Walmart to beat someone up instead of grabbing your child and leaving the scene immediately is idiotic. Sorry, but it just is.

---------- Post added at 09:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 AM ----------

The man slapped the child. Is there no conception here of measuring a situation?

I hardly see the use of arguing this with folks who, apparently, think acting like Charles Bronson is some sort of entitlement in life.

Well, maybe if you dropped the holier than thou attitude and stopped thinking that people who disagree with you are wrong and tried to see our point of view without resorting to calling people morons and idiots people could make you see their point.

Actually, no. They can't. So yeah, there's no point in even trying in arguing. How about we just agree to disagree?