Let’s have a talk about something serious right now. Today I had a wonderful day in Hawaii, snorkeling, walking around, sunbathing, all that jazz. My whole day came to a very quick stop though.

While I was on the beach I heard a mother yelling. At first I paid it no heed thinking it was just a bunch of rowdy people in the water, until it continued for another good ten minutes. So I sat up and looked out at the water. There is a mother and her little eight year old boy standing in the water.

She was yelling at him, chastising him and dragging him into the water. For a moment I thought they where just playing but after she started cursing at him and he started crying, it became very clear it wasn’t just playing.

She was trying to get him to go snorkeling but the kid really didn’t want to. He was bawling and trying to run back to the beach but his mom kept grabbing him and trying to force him to go under even though he was so clearly terrified. She kept yelling at him to “put your f*@#ing mask on” and “put your f&%@ing head under he water”.

I was appalled.

The dad was sitting on the beach laughing as he kept yelling “the sharks are coming, the sharks are coming”. The kid was screaming and crying. The mother even went as far as to grab the kid as he ran away, drag him into the deep part of the water, and force him to stay there.

I didn’t know what to do. I was alone watching this poor kid being verbally and emotional abused by his parents. I noticed a few other people watching as well and I got up to go talk to them. I talked with two old women and a family of three also watching.

I asked them if we should stop them, step in, ask them to stop. We decided we had to do something so we went down on the beach edge to go talk to them. The mother noticed all of us standing there and got out of the water and walked away. I guess she gave up.

This means nothing to me. The fact that she walked away isn’t what matters. That poor kid was probably so traumatized because we let that go on for so long. So I ask you:

When do you step in?

It is really none of my business how a parent raises their child, but when is it appropriate to step in and do something. Do I have any right at all in doing this? It isn’t my child, it isn’t my business. But if a child is being abused emotionally, verbally, or physically, when is it up to me to do something?

It shocked me so much that someone could do this to their child. I am glad we did something but I feel like it wasn’t enough. So I ask you the reader, when do you step in, share that with me.And don’t let this happen.

Next time I don’t want to be unprepared.