The following is in no way is meant to make light of child abuse, but sometimes you just have to shake your head in amazement at the poor decisions made by some parents.
The mother of a South Carolina middle school student who was being suspended has been arrested after authorities said she walked into the school and slapped the wrong child.
Tyshekka Collier, 36, went to Fairforest Middle School in Spartanburg County Wednesday morning to pick up her son.
When Collier walked into the office, she saw a boy sitting in the office with his head down. Mistaking him for her son, she slapped him in the face, according to Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputies.
However, the boy Collier struck was sick and was sitting on a couch waiting for his mother to pick him up, according to Fairforest Middle School Principal Ty Dawkins.
Dawkins said once Collier realized she had slapped the wrong boy, she apologized, and then walked over to her son and began to slap him for getting in trouble, hitting him in the head and face and knocking him to the ground, according to a Greenville television station.
Collier was charged with disturbing school and assault and battery. It wasn’t known if she had a lawyer.
Her three children are in protective custody, according to the Associated Press.
The Cotton Boll Conspiracy 
Don’t you know that other kid was stunned? And when did parents start slapping kids in the face? At least she was too stupid to hide her abusive behavior so she could get caught. Wonder how many times that kid has sucked up a beating….. Sad state of society
My thoughts exactly. If that mom is laying on that kind of a beating in public, I wonder what goes on in private.
That is abuse. My parents spanked me a couple of times and I deserved it but it was the kind that hurt my pride not me. My dad had a look – the look meant shut-up and I did! My dad passed in 2001 but my mom is still with us at 85. Wonderful parents!
Yes, corporal punishment has a place, but this is clearly way over the top. I pity the child that has to endure this sort of abuse. I fortunate that both my parents are still around and that I was able to learn a great deal from both. When you see something like this you realize just how bad a hand some people get dealt in life.
You are so right my friend. I had GREAT parents and my life and marriage has been patterned after theirs. Unfortunately, we could not have children – one of my few regrets in life choices!
Sometimes, even if you can’t have kids, you can serve as an example to other children, even though they may not be your own. Don’t underestimate the impact that can have on a young life.
She didn’t even recognize her own kid either, crikey! One of my boys is brown-haired, of average height and build in a class heavy on kids just like him, I can still pick him out of the crowd!
Thank goodness she was stupid enough to behave like this in public, ensuring her other kids were saved from further abuse. As the first comment says, what on earth was going on at home behind closed doors. No wonder the poor kid was in trouble with the school authorities, there was no good example of behaviour at home I’m guessing.
Four of my girls are all around the same age, between 9 and 12, and are all of average height, etc. Yet, I too have absolutely no trouble picking them out from across a parking lot, auditorium, etc. Even if one of them had their head in their hands, I could recognize them, or, conversely, tell if it wasn’t my child.
I didn’t include the mug shot of the woman that appeared in the television stories, but she looked like one ornery hombre. I pity her children.
What a powerful story! You would expect a kid that experiences this kind of abuse in public to have learned bad behavior! If Mom’s doing that automatically in PUBLIC, what was she doing to the poor kids at home? There’s so much sorrow in that whole situation it’s hard to even respond to it.
I took in a high school girl for a while who had a mother like that. By high school she was emancipated and living with various teachers and office people who adored her. She had been taken out of the home the first time at age 9 (the very same thing – mom beating her in the office) and the first night she was in foster care she was raped by an older child in the foster home.
Yes, it is incredibly sad to find out that abuse like this occurs. I tell my girls – ages 9, 11, 11 and 12 – that when they’re getting a hard time from someone at school, or someone at school is acting out, they shouldn’t be so quick to judge them as troublemakers or malcontents. I explain that at their age, misbehavior can often be triggered by something going on in their personal lives, and that while they don’t need to put up with it if it’s directed at them, they should also try to be a little more understanding. It’s a delicate balance to try to strike.
It must have been rewarding on a level to be able to help that girl, and sad at the same time. I hope you were able to keep in touch with her. You and the other folks at the school likely made a great difference in her life – when she needed it most.
We were very close, and did keep in touch for years. That was 18 years ago. She has 3 children, and has been married a long time, and last I knew still was and living on the east coast. I visited her in her home about 5 years ago. We had a great time, and she was studying to be an RN at the time. Great gal, but rough childhood. However, I know that the younger things happen to you the more they affect you even as old as I am. I have a friend who was a child Holocaust survivor. She struggles more now at about age 75 than she ever has. Abuse never goes away. We bury it, but it stays put deep within, and seeps out as we get older. Like I said, the story you wrote was so sad at so many levels. Thanks for sharing it, though. 🙂