When my oldest was 3, he threw a fit at the mall of all places.  He was having a bad day and was being difficult the entire day to say the least.  He wanted one of those giant gumballs and when I said no, he hurled his sippy cup and hit me in the hand.  I swatted his backside and told him very sternly that I had had enough through clenched teeth.  I had been kneeling so he could take in all of my scowl  and when I started to stand up, a couple of women walked by me muttering something and looking at me with disapproval.  I didn't hesitate to ask them if they wanted to take him home...as I flipped them off.

I've never looked at another parent like that.  In fact I usually look at them with empathy.  I figure if they're swatting their kid the kid earned that swat.

I swatted his backside and told him very sternly that I had had enough through clenched teeth.  I had been kneeling so he could take in all of my scowl  and when I started to stand up, a couple of women walked by me muttering something and looking at me with disapproval.  I didn't hesitate to ask them if they wanted to take him home...as I flipped them off.

I've never looked at another parent like that.  In fact I usually look at them with empathy.  I figure if they're swatting their kid the kid earned that swat.

Among children under age 5 years in the United States who were murdered in the last quarter of the 20th century, 61% were killed by their own parents: 30% were killed by their mothers, and 31% by their fathers (1). Estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 1994 indicated that homicide was the fourth leading cause of death for preschool children and the third leading cause of death among children from ages 5–14 years (2). In the United States, the incidence of homicide of children less than 1 year old has increased over the past quarter-century (1). Compared to other developed nations, the United States has the highest rate of child homicide: 8.0/100,000 for infants, 2.5/100,000 for preschool-age children (age 1–4 years), and 1.5/100,000 for school-age children (age 5–14 years) (3). In contrast, Canada’s reported rate for homicide of infants was less than half that of the United States: 2.9/100,000 (3). Furthermore, multiple authors have suggested that rates of child murder by parents are underestimated in epidemiological studies of child death (4–6).