I watched a five-year-old curb stomp another five-year-old and then kick him in the throat...
I should back up.
My kids love the playground areas you can sometimes find in malls. As such, many of our mall visits will include spending at least some time watching our children run around, playing with other kids, jumping on foam mushrooms, and sliding down the slides. Unlike other parents, who seemingly use this time to dissolve into their cell phones, I am constantly watching my kids. I am watching for threats and I'm watching for problems.
On one such visit I sat down and quickly spotted a potential problem. One kid (we will call him Anton) had brought a cool toy to the play area in the form of a giant truck from the movie Cars that was almost as big as he was. I saw this as a problem because my kids, at the time, did not really understand the concept of toy ownership, they loved the movie Cars, and Anton seemed possessive. Luckily, my kids seemed oblivious as Anton sat perched atop one of the slides like a tiny monarch playing with his truck.
As I kept an eye on the situation I noticed another child (we will call him Bernard) sneaking up the steps of the slide behind Anton and when he got to the top he pushed Anton down the slide. With this simple motion Bernard had claimed not only the top of the slide, but the truck that Anton had left behind (2). Anton, distraught, raced around to the steps of the slide, climbed to the top, scooped his toy into his arms (which Bernard had started playing with), and slid down the slide again leaving Bernard at the top of the slide sans toy. After reaching the bottom of the slide, Anton stood up, still cradling his precious toy, and glared at Bernard (3).
Bernard, apparently unable to recognize death staring him in the face must have decided that the two of them were playing because he slid down the slide after Anton. When Bernard got the bottom of the slide though, he did not immediately jump to his feet and instead lay at the base of the slide fully outstretched with his head resting on the bottom of the chute (4). Bernard then raised his hands toward Anton as if to say, 'give me the truck.' It was in this moment that I watched in horror as Anton lifted his foot and brought it straight down on Bernard's chest; I watched as Bernard's chest plate visibly caved inward; I watched as, winded, Bernard sat up to take a deep breath to scream in pain; And I watched as Anton, kicked Bernard right in the throat just like Jean Claude Van Damme. All while Anton held on to the truck that was almost as big as he was.
It was at this point in the story that I made an erroneous assumption. I assumed these two kids were brothers. So, you can imagine my shock when a mother figure came running over and after checking on Bernard, got down to Anton's level and said, "we don't kick." What?!?!?! Where was this style of parenting when I was a child? If I had done what Anton did, my mom would have spanked me (or more likely had my Dad do it) right then and there. If I looked at her and said, "that's child abuse," I would have gotten spanked again. If a cop had been walking by and seen the spanking, he would have continued his rounds probably thinking to himself "good, I probably won't have to arrest that kid in a few years."
As it turns out, this woman was not Anton's mother. Anton's parents were not even on at the playground. They had left their five-year-old in the play area and gone shopping. They returned only after the assault apparently none the wiser to the budding sociopath they were raising. Instead they simply walked over to their son and said, "Did you have fun on the playground today?" "Uh huh," said Anton. At this point they walked away but in my mind the conversation continued with the Dad saying, "Okay Damien, let's go home and see if we can convince your maid to jump off a balcony for you."
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