A Tough Question

It's a sight we're all semifamiliar with. You're walking through a grocery store and hear a crying child, the parent looks frustrated because they can't get the kid to quit crying and then what do you think happens? The parent either winds up taking away a toy/blanket/stuffed animal, yelling at the kid, or spanking them. From what I've seen, most often, they just skip straight to the spanking.

I understand that parents must have a way to discipline the children but I have never believed in hitting a child for any reason, not even discipline. That doesn't teach the child anything but fear and violence. I also understand that not everyone shares my view on this controversial topic and that you can't give a child everything they want. So here's my question: when does "discipline" become abuse?

Here's the situation that sparked the thoughts I'm having:
My mom and I carpool to work everyday because we work across the street from eachother. She has to be there at 8am, the earliest I'm due in is 9am. Instead of driving back home every day (a 15-20 minute trek depending on traffic) I just wait around the hospital where she works. This morning I observed something that made me angry.

I was sitting downstairs in the cafeteria enjoying some milk and a bagel when I heard a young boy start screaming and crying for his mother. He was just yelling "Mommy" as loud as he could while sobbing. He was on the floor above me and therefore out of my view. I assume it was the father who was with him because I heard a male voice mumbling something however, it was pretty inaudible to me. The child continued to scream for his mother and a few moments later I hear the sound of flesh meeting flesh a few times. The father had just spanked his child who was now screaming even louder for his mother. He continues crying and sadly enough the father repeats this process not once but twice.

Having a child that's crying can be frustrating but spanking them is not the answer. It's not going to make them quit. It's going to make them cry more because instead of protecting them you are hurting them. You are making them fear the one person they should trust the most.

When I heard all this I moved up to the upper level to try to figure out what was going on. The family was just there visiting another relative and the mother had run across the street to the drugstore for a few things. The child merely wanted to go with her but was told he couldn't.

I am not sure what happened to that little boy since I had to leave to arrive here at work on time. However before I left I told the information desk ladies (who are also friends with my mom) what I overheard and they said they'd keep their eyes and ears open.

I hope that little boy is okay and that the father learns a better way to discipline his children (the crying child had an older brother). And I hope for children everywhere that parents realize that spanking, especially in public places, isn't going to help anything. It only makes things worse.