I just watched my sister beat her daughter up in the front yard..

[Vivi22]

I'm sorry but your niece's name is apple?

OP. Unless you think Apples life is at risk, I'd try to stay out of it if I was you.

If what the OP described is accurate then it absolutely crosses the line, and I have little doubt that someone who would do that once without batting an eye has probably done it plenty before, and likely will again. So assuming again that his description of events is an accurate account, I'd report her. Doesn't matter if she's my sister, the kid's safety comes first. And if anything, the fact that he doesn't know how frequent such abuse is makes me more likely to ere on the side of caution.

But that's assuming he's accurately recounting it. But even if his description isn't what actually happened, but is skewed by his interpretation of events he didn't have a close up view of (and given eye witness testimony is notoriously unreliable), he should still report her. Let the social workers investigate and see if they find any reason to intervene further.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

I think you should change the thread title from 'beat' to 'slap'.
I think people were expecting you to say she cracked her skull or something. And probably didn't read the OP.

 

[Thetwistedendgame]

As a victim of child abuse myself, I advice you to call the goddamn cops on the spot.

 

[The Gnome King]

So as my usual day to day things go im sitting by my window with it open and I see Apple my niece come angerly out the front door then Kelly comes out after her and tells her to come here I see her ***** slap apple across the face and hit her a few times then as shes going to door i hear a thump apple i couldbt see due to limited view but apple says kelly slamed her head on the door

My sister is sitting in living room atm after yelling some and taking apples phone


Im not sure what i should do or say to her or ignore it

Im all for spankings but that seemed exessive it was over a fund raiser to get money for apple to cheer next year
Apple is 14 btw


So how should I go about this?

CPS all the way, if you confront your sister it'll be a huge argument about how you don't understand or you can't tell her how to raise her kid or something. Anonymous call to CPS and they'll do all the important checks and such and act appropriately. That could be parenting classes, support for your niece or full removal in extreme cases. Either way it's what's best for your niece that should come first.

This, 100%. If there is no reason to remove the child, CPS will not remove the child.

People who don't act when they see child abuse - and sorry, that's abuse ... if a husband did that to his wife; we would call it what it is.

Hell, I don't even hit my dogs let alone other human beings. Some people are just sick.

 

[Something Amyss]

It's weird the number of people who come online for what seems to be self explanatory advice.

What to do: Call the police.

What not to do: ask the internet for advice. Especially if you're going to argue about it.

 

[chinangel]

You may be over-exaggerating everything. Unless Apple goes to school with a black eye and a concussion, I don't think the slap upside the head was all that harsh.

If you're concerned, go to your sister and ask her (in one version or another), "So this morning I saw you beating the absolute snot out of your kid. What on earth did she do?"


Should the answer your sister give not be satisfactory to the situation, further describe to your sister that anyone in the neighborhood could have seen that and that she should tone it down in the future. That you'd hate to see someone freak out and call the cops over something stupid.




The more you bend things out of proportion or sit on it dreading, the worse it's going to be for you. Confront the problem head on and don't act like it's huge, or you'll just end up freaking out your sister. Be mature on the matter, state your opinion.

Now obviously if Apple is sustaining injuries, or is getting her ass handed to her every day, you should call authorities on the matter and voice your concern to them. But for all you know Apple may have been a tramp (which kids at age 14 tend to be) and may have deserved it.

rarely does a child deserve to be hit in the head, slap or otherwise. That's a very different kind of punitive violence, and 'being a tramp' doesn't constitute having their head slammed into the door.

"Being a Tramp" isn't really something that you punish with violence, and it sounds like that wasn't even related to why they were being hit (I believe the OP said it was something to do with cheerleading or something)

OT: You said that this isn't the first time she had hit Apple. If there is a pattern to this, it must stop. Parents who react with violence without consequence will continue to use it as a crutch, and will then in turn teach their chidlren to use it as a crutch.

 

[esperandote]

I was sure this was going to be one of those deliberate controvertial thread titles that arent really what they appear, that it was going to be I just watched my sister beat her daughter... on tetris, or something like that.

Do the same to her and ask her if she likes it

Is your sister name Apple Tree? xD

 

[Firstmark_Bannor]

Being that my sister has a kid, I can honestly say that I would NEVER approve of the treatment described. Especially since my sisters and I grew up in a household where our mother would beat us with things until they broke. My answer would be confront your sister on the matter, find out the WHOLE story from both sides, meaning you'll have to talk to Apple (poorly named child). Apple may have been in the wrong here but violence is never the correct way to solve family problems.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

Anybody else looking at people saying "You should talk to Apple." and feeling like you are in a tech support thread? Just me?

Anyway, I think the only thing you should do is make an anonymous call to child protection. Maybe nothing comes of it, maybe something does. Either way, she'll definitely think twice before doing it again.

 

[Ilyssa]

Children have a right to be protected from their parents. If some stranger slammed your kids head into a door, it's bad. But if a parent slammed their kids head into a door it's suddenly ok? Children aren't property, you don't OWN them, and adults don't have the right to do whatever the hell they want to a child just because they share genetics.

Hell, if it's ok for parents to beat children, then it's ok for children to beat up their parents. Tell Apple to beat the shit out of her mother. Tell her to use a hammer, it's more effective that way! I mean, they're family so it's OK right?

Child protective services is the way to go pal.

 

[KrossBillNye]

I am sorry I am not for abuse.

If your sister was spanking her daughter for doing something bad then sure ok, if I was in your shoes and my sister did that I would be fine with that. Spanking is not as bad as say, punching or hitting your child. That is too far.

I intend to spank my kids if they get out of line like my parents did to me. I would never however, EVER slap or punch my child in the face. There is no justification for that. If the child threatened my life with a weapon then yes I would but the probability of that is slim to none.

You need to talk to your sister and tell her that you do not like the way you are treating your niece, if she doesn't care, then threaten to go to Child Protection. If that still doesn't work, follow through with that.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

Crazy names - making even domestic violence hilarious.

"Physical abuse by mother leaves 14-year-old Apple with black eye, phone confiscated"

I hope the phone was an Iphone. "Apple Iphone confiscated, left with black eye."

 

[Richardplex]

Im all for spankings but that seemed exessive it was over a fund raiser to get money for apple to cheer next year
Apple is 14 btw

Alright guys, be honest; who just imagined a montage of a giant Apple going through the first 18 years of her life? Being born ("Congratulations, its an Apple!"), rolling on its own for the first time, getting beaten up by her dad when she brings home a male banana, at graduation with one of those funny hats they wear in the US....

No, just me? Fine. You guys are no fun.

OT: Talk to Apple about it. See how she feels.

I didn't, but would it be something like this, replacing pumpkin with an apple?

 

[MrTub]

I would call the cops

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

First make sure Apple isn't bruised.

Talk to her about it and see how she feels.

 

[TheXRatedDodo]

So as my usual day to day things go im sitting by my window with it open and I see Apple my niece come angerly out the front door then Kelly comes out after her and tells her to come here I see her ***** slap apple across the face and hit her a few times then as shes going to door i hear a thump apple i couldbt see due to limited view but apple says kelly slamed her head on the door

My sister is sitting in living room atm after yelling some and taking apples phone


Im not sure what i should do or say to her or ignore it

Im all for spankings but that seemed exessive it was over a fund raiser to get money for apple to cheer next year
Apple is 14 btw


So how should I go about this?

If it was me, I wouldn't just ignore this. I would've leapt up and gone outside and gotten very, very fucking pissed off. You do not do that to a child, you do not beat your fucking kids. There is better way to instill a sense of morality and discipline than by causing pain to someone. That you stood by and let it happen without lifting a finger is worrying. You can take the attitude of it not being your business, but they're your family and you saw your sister bitchslap her daughter and then further lay into her. It IS your fucking business I'm afraid pal.

My Sister is similarly abusive to her daughter, although not with physical violence, but mental violence. There was only so long I could take seeing her act like that before I had to step in and say that the way she was behaving was totally fucked up and amoral. And of course, it didn't go down well. But given the choice to change things, the only thing I would've done differently is that I would've spoken up sooner.

Where are your principles man? And as for those of you who are saying that a slap upside the head of a child isn't that bad? What are you smoking? Give me an example of corporal punishment that hasn't instilled some sort of neuroses or imbalance in a person and we'll talk.

 

[SweetLiquidSnake]

You probably should have actively done something about it instead of just passively asking people about it.

I obviosuly don't know the full story but repeated smacks in the face and slamming a head against the door is pretty severe. I can't imagine what exactly the daughter did in order to deserve that but I'm pretty sure your sister went overboard.

I still don't know why to this day, children are the only people that are allowed to be beaten. The only ones who can't fight back against their aggressor, just have to take it with a smile and still say "i love you" to their parent at the end of the day, instead of the royal "fuck you" that some parents deserve.

 

[TheXRatedDodo]

And child protective services? Really? Yes, let's get the Government bods involved rather than sorting out our own fucking problems like adults.
Come on people..