Reply #39: Sometimes, in situations like this, [View All]

because of the obvious instability of the parent, sometimes making a judgmental comment, (not that you did, I am speaking in generalities) can cause immediate short term danger for the child.

An intervention technique that offers some promise is to gently say to the offending parent something along the lines of "Gee, kids can be such a handful" or "I have been there, too" you get the idea, and then ask if there is anyway you can help.

I have confronted people before about their treatment of their children and I did sometimes think I had done more harm than good. When I was practicing psychology, I had a 'stressed out parent' group that I ran and some of the parents indicated that they would not be offended if someone approached them in this manner.

JMO.