Violence Again

At the library the other day, Baby J was wandering about. In her travels, she happened past a young manstanding with his mother at the DVD's. She looked at him and smiled. He shoulted, "no," and took a swipe at her.

The boy's mother immediately admonished her son but, as I leaned in and scooped up Baby J, I was a little disappointed by the content of her rebuke. It was something like this:

She didn't do anthing to you. You have no right to hit her.

Maybe I was just a little upset that Baby J was once again the victim of bae-onbabe violence but I felt this mom had it befudded when it came to explaining why her son was in the wrong. When is it ever okay for a child to hit another child for some sort of perceived offense? Aren't we supposed to teach our children to solve their problems peacably? I know that kids scrap and tussle from time to time but as a parent, aren't we supposed to be the adults and say that there are better ways of dealing with disputes?

So, did I say anything to this mother? Nope. I just punched her.