Whenever it comes to the topic of how a parent should discipline a child, there are varied opinions about what a parent should and should not do.
For the older generation, the entire “Tiger parenting” was more common, sometimes with physical punishments doled out judiciously, depending on the severity of the mistake.
Some parents would even scoff and point out they had it worse in the past, stating how their teachers were allowed to use rulers to smack their hands for misdemeanours.
Then there’s the whole public caning thing, which is another can of worms best left unopened.
In present-day society, we have mostly acknowledged that negative reinforcement isn’t the best way to go about instilling the rights and wrongs in a child; if anything, it’ll only teach the child to be more careful not to get caught.
Hence, when a woman was caught live in 4K kicking a boy in the hip after scolding him loudly, you can imagine that the netizens were up in pitchforks and torches, demanding for the local authorities to step in.
Woman Filmed Screaming and Kicking a Boy
The original video was posted on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook Page on 12 May.
The incident took place along McNair Road, in Boon Keng.
From the witness’ account, it happened around 3pm. The original poster was working from home then, when the continuous shouting that lasted around five minutes drew her attention to the window.
The 26-second video starts off with the pink-shirt woman wiping her face and scolding a young boy who is hidden from view at first.
Owing to the background traffic and the muffled quality of the audio, the argument can’t be discerned, but it’s evident that the woman is very angry.
The boy must have said something in response that triggered the woman, because she screams again before aiming a kick at the boy’s hip around the 18-second mark.
The boy’s knee bends from the blow, and he quickly backs away. He flinches when the woman jabs a finger in his direction, as if he’s expecting her to strike him again.
Hurriedly, he places some distance between him and her, both arms raised, then the video ends while the pair are still in a tense situation.
The Original Poster Intervenes
It’s not clear if the woman is the boy’s mother.
According to the Mothership, the original poster had stopped filming and stepped out of her house to ask the duo if anything was wrong.
She continued to ask for their names and address, but neither the woman nor the boy gave her a reply.
Although the original poster didn’t get any answers, she managed to stop the situation from escalating at least, as the woman gestured for the boy to leave with her.
The original poster watched as they walked towards Balestier Road, which might suggest that they live in the neighbourhood.
Additionally, the original poster noticed that no one intervened apart from her.
Maybe it’s the bystander effect at work, or that the passers-by assumed that the situation was under control.
The original poster added that as a mother herself, she found it “heartbreaking” to watch how the boy was being treated, but she was quite sympathetic towards the woman too, since she looked rather stressed out and upset.
The Police are Investigating
It seems like netizens have become the walking and commentating surveillance cameras of Singapore, because the Singapore Police Force were immediately prompted into action once the video went viral.
As of writing this article, the video has already been viewed more than 62,000 times.
The netizens were naturally protective of the boy and protested against the woman’s behaviour.
One user wrote: “It hurts to see the kid flinching everytime she raises her hand. Seems to me, this is not the first time she abuses her kid. Please make a report, pity the small boy.”
The video might be short, but it’s incredibly concerning.
If the woman is capable of such violence in public, what is her behaviour towards the boy like behind closed doors?
Others have pointed out that child abuse should never be tolerated, no matter the circumstance. They rightfully point out that a child often picks up their parents’ habits, albeit unwittingly, which means that parents have to be the child’s best role model.
One netizen ends off their comment with a firm but solemn tone, “I’m all for discipline. Be firm, be strict. This is not strict; this is abusive behaviour.”
Perpetuating violence in the name of “discipline” is never the answer.
Later, the original poster updates the video description to report that the police are investigating the matter.
She thanks the netizens for their attention and tagging—heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a police officer dedicated to scrolling through Facebook pages at this point—and she confirms that the police have contacted her for more details around 11pm that same day.
Featured Image: Facebook (COMPLAINT SINGAPORE)