Don’t beat people up for being parents

The Herald reports:

A dad parked at a popular Dunedin lookout was attacked by a man from another car who objected to his baby being out late at night.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said the father was parked at Unity Park late yesterday evening when the assault happened.

“The argument started because the occupant had a baby in the back seat they were trying to settle, as they had been driving around and parked up there.”

A 30-year-old man, a passenger in another parked car, got out and approached the family’s vehicle.

When the father got out of his car, the man started arguing with him.

He told the father he “shouldn’t have a baby out this late”, and punched him in the back of the head, Bond said.

This is pretty horrific. I’ve been in the situation of the Dad many times when the kids were really young. After 90 minutes of trying to settle them at home by walking, rocking etc you finally strap them into the car seat and drive. Sometimes it works in 20 minutes, sometimes it takes well over an hour. And even once they’re asleep you don’t head straight home because you want to make sure they’re in a deep sleep when you try to transfer them back to the cot.

So it is wrong to judge parents out late at night with kids in the car, let alone decide you can assault them for your misconceptions. I hope serious charges are pressed.