Should I have said something?

[BJWinner]

So I have some new neighbors and they envited my boyfriend and I to their house to watch a football game. I decided to go and stop avoiding my neighbors. They were really nice people but I couldn't really have an intellegent conversation with them.

Everything was going fine until I saw one of the fathers giving their child beer. This was a child that couldn't even crawl yet and the father kept giving the kid sip after sip (he must have done it over ten times). And the kid kept crying for more! I was so appalled that I just sat there giving him a dirty look and contemplating whether I should say something. I didn't want to start an argument (I figured that these people are too ignorant to change their ways), but in my eyes I see that as child abuse.

Should I have said something? What would you do in that situation?

[AnIrishmannot2brite]

Originally Posted by BJWinner

So I have some new neighbors and they envited my boyfriend and I to their house to watch a football game. I decided to go and stop avoiding my neighbors. They were really nice people but I couldn't really have an intellegent conversation with them.

Everything was going fine until I saw one of the fathers giving their child beer. This was a child that couldn't even crawl yet and the father kept giving the kid sip after sip (he must have done it over ten times). And the kid kept crying for more! I was so appalled that I just sat there giving him a dirty look and contemplating whether I should say something. I didn't want to start an argument (I figured that these people are too ignorant to change their ways), but in my eyes I see that as child abuse.

Should I have said something? What would you do in that situation?

Wait two weeks, call Child Protective Services. Maintain a positive association with neighbors in the meantime and always. They'll never suspect you if you don't show any fear.

CPS probably already has their number and your influence will help the kid.

[sagefr0g]

a girlfriend of mine once told me that she was born prematurely and that for a while as a baby beer was about the only thing she could ingest. she claimed it helped keep her alive until she was able to take normal food.
i dunno the veracity of this but she wasn't the type to lie.

[nightspirit]

I would have said something! Maybe he was just a little bit conservative because normally he gives the baby vodka, who knows? Or the father of the child grews up the same way. Anyway, I would avoid this family, they didn't seem to know what they are doing.

[Brutus]

Originally Posted by AnIrishmannot2brite

Wait two weeks, call Child Protective Services. Maintain a positive association with neighbors in the meantime and always. They'll never suspect you if you don't show any fear.

CPS probably already has their number and your influence will help the kid.

I couldnt disagree more. cps can ruin their lives, and turn their children against them. possibly putting them in jail, loss of work, kids with other people etc...doing more harm than good.

I say mind your own dam*ed business.

in other cultures and in other times it is perfectly acceptable to offer your kids a little beer/wine now and then.

my recommendation is your boyfriend speak to the guy himself. if he doesnt like what he has to say, he wont invite you over anymore. then you wont have to worry about it.

[FGK42]

Originally Posted by AnIrishmannot2brite

Wait two weeks, call Child Protective Services. Maintain a positive association with neighbors in the meantime and always. They'll never suspect you if you don't show any fear.

CPS probably already has their number and your influence will help the kid.

I HOPE you were jesting about calling CPS - once CPS gets involved lives get ruined. CPS is good for physical abuse but come on now!

Giving little kids sips of beer is normal in some cultures. My grandfather was from the "Old Country" and when my parents took us to his house he would routinely do that to my little brother - especially when he was teething.

If you think CPS is your or anyone's friend - think again. In our neck of the woods I know of a family where the father spanked his 5 year old son, with a belt on the buttocks. The child, who didn't have any bruising mentioned it while in school and the teachers called CPS. The child was removed from the family while a 9 month investigation occurred. During that time the child was sexually abused by a 10 year old while in "foster care". It was determined that the father was not an abuser - he simply believed in corporal punishment - and the child was returned. However this man, who was a chiropracter, was so distraught that his practice severely suffered due to court hearings. When the child reported the sexual abuse the wife blamed the husband - a divorce insued and the family split.

All because someone put their nose into another families business.

Violence or physical abuse - in a heartbeat. But for minor issues - be careful.

[Kaiser]

Originally Posted by AnIrishmannot2brite

Wait two weeks, call Child Protective Services. Maintain a positive association with neighbors in the meantime and always. They'll never suspect you if you don't show any fear.

CPS probably already has their number and your influence will help the kid.

You're a little confusing. You claim to be an Irishman, which would mean you grew up on beer , yet you want to ruin a family because a grandpa let a kid have a sip of it.

I say mind your own friggin' business and leave the people alone. They might be losers, but it's not like they're beating the kid.

a girlfriend of mine once told me that she was born prematurely and that for a while as a baby beer was about the only thing she could ingest. she claimed it helped keep her alive until she was able to take normal food.
i dunno the veracity of this but she wasn't the type to lie.

She might not be lying, but her parents are irresponsible pieces of garbage who should have had their faces kicked in back then. Who in their right mind thinks "ooh, little Sarah just can't keep anything down... let's try BEER."

WTF?!

Although I should admit that beer has pretty much kept me alive at different points in my life. I'm talking adult life, though.

[shadroch]

Beer,its the breakfast of champions.

[moo321]

To be really honest, that probably wasn't a dangerous amount of beer. In America, we sort of have a weird view of alcohol, that the rest of the world doesn't share. In Europe, children are often served wine or beer, and no one thinks it's an issue.

DO NOT, under ANY circumstances call protective services on this family, unless you see some SERIOUS abuse going on (like the parents getting the kid drunk every night). They absolutely do make things way worse; they don't always remove kids that need to be removed, and when they do remove them, they often end up in worse situations than before. Foster care in this country is awful; the providers do it because they get paid money, and most of them are indifferent, or abusive to the children.

[rogue1]

I'm a libertarian who happens to love his beer but if I see a man giving a crawling baby ten or more sips of beer I'm calling the authorities-end of freakin' story!