Parents are overprotective by nature. They don’t want any harm happening to children if they have a choice in the matter. Even the tiniest, insignificant possibility of danger can set them off.
You really can’t blame them; it’s instinctive.
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But this father from China took it a little too far when he repeatedly kicked a boy he bumped into his daughter at a playground. This disturbing scene was captured by a CCTV camera.
The footage shows some children playing around on a roundabout. A few meters away, parents and guardians are sat on the sides looking on.
Photo credit: Shanghailist
A girl in a pink jumper helps another boy spin the equipment until the momentum causes the boy to fall off and bump into the girl.
Photo credit: Shanghailist
He knocks her on the floor, and immediately a man jumps from his chair and into the frame and starts kicking the boy on the spine.
Photo credit: Shanghailist
The boy drops to the floor and begins to cry as the man thought to be the girl’s father continues with the beating.
Visibly distraught, the girl wraps her arms around the boy to comfort him as he continues crying. Meanwhile, the father sits back down and pretends nothing has happened.
Photo credit: Shanghailist
Another guardian comes up to comfort the beaten boy and then confronts the father. Eventually the little boy manages to stand up, but is obviously in pain, holding a hand to his back.
According to the news outfit the Shanghaiist, the incident took place in a shopping mall in Dongying, China. The local police also recently announced that they have apprehended the man and that the case is now under investigation.
It has not been revealed whether or not the boy has suffered lasting injuries.
Accidents happen
While it’s a reasonable impulse to safeguard children from accidents, it’s important to understand that accidents are inherently a part of childhood.
It’s not right to punish a child over something he or she has no control over.
There’s also a fine line between making sure your child is safe and child abuse. No one wants to see their child being harmed by a stranger over something as trivial as falling from a roundabout.
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