Is this a case of mind your own business, or is it now your business when a man hits a toddler in the face at a grocery store?

Clearly the first step is to call Law Enforcement. That being said if the life of the child is in danger, do what you can with in your means. Are you physical stronger that the abuser, are your prepared to get in a fight, what if he is armed? One has to be very careful when dealing with people like this; he could be and likely is mentally ill. In this case the child was able to leave so use your cell phone, watch him from a distance and report his location to the police.

If you are in a group of people that you know and trust take him down hard and make a citizens arrest. If you feel you can over power him with out getting hurt go for it; however, you too may end up arrested and charged with assault.

Well, CSM I believe that the last two should be combined.

Besides the violence why is the Mother not protecting her child? I mean I cannot see what a toddler could have done to deserve such violence. The Child is not aware of things in the world. Only what adults teach them.

It is great that he was arrested but the Mother should be questioned and dealt with for not doing anything. Of course the headline is vague as to if she may have walked out to get away from that dude.

That type of correction is extremely excessive for a child that age.

In this day and age, I would have just minded my own business.

Did he hit the kid a little too hard, maybe. Did the kid suffer broken bones or bruises? I doubt it. With social media (big brother/everyone with a camera phone) watching everything we do and EVERYONE being able to put in their two cents, we're going to keep getting different stories like this.

Fact is, you try to get involved, then YOU can end up getting in trouble somehow. God forbid, you go to the store and then end up in court because you offended the father or mother. Yes, that's how sad our society has become.

I have 4 kids of my own and there is no reason to ever smack a child in the face. I work be the person to follow him outside and smack the hell out of the father. It's the parents fault for the child acting that way. NOT the child's.

It is time to police up and protect the child.

I would call the police. Seems like the right thing to do. If the guy leaves, get the make, model, license plate number of his car, so the police can find him.

I would call the police but I would also protect the child. Doesn't matter what the child has done earlier in the day, a smack on the butt or thigh or even the hands are accepted in public, if you feel the need for a harsher punishment do it at home. Smacking a child in the face is plain wrong.

I chose Call the Police...because you may be able to protect him while he is in the store, and take out his vengence when he leaves the store because his child embarrassed him, however if police get involved, an intervention has been made. With that said, the parent can still punish the child when they get home...perhaps DHS would be involved by then, ..... if the police thought it was severe enough. I would probably step between child and parent...be prepared for a fight if this happens. I certainly do not want anyone telling me how I should parent. With that said, the worst punishment I gave my daughter was a slap on the hand.

Abuse is abuse, discipline is discipline, the two have many shades of gray....it isn't black and white anymore. If you discipline your child in public, you're likely going to have someone say something. It will be mistaken as abuse if discipline is given in public, anyone agree?

Face shots are always bad news.
Rage machines like this guy represent a serious danger to his child(ren) and needs to be considered a danger to society until he can understand why what he did is bad and get appropriate help.
What's worse is how common his approach is in the military, particularly among Service Members dealing with PTSD and depression. When we have a problem that we lack the tools to deal or cope with, anger is the first option, and knowing that it is wrong is not always enough to stop us from doing it.

No way that could have been ignored... Even at its most restrictive, every ROE allows for self defense and the defense of others...