I remember the days when you were allowed to hit your kids to discipline them and when I was in school we were told we were lucky we just missed out on getting the cane!!!
I wonder how the police found out.

How did the police find out that this had happened?
It sounds like there is more to the story and perhaps the child had bruises or wounds that someone has reported to child services.

We don’t know whether or not the Mum already had the spoon in her hand for another reason. Some animals like food that is “off” and that’s probably why it was left to be used for the dog’s worming tablets.. Some children are compulsive eaters and will eat anything they like even when they’ve just had a big meal. A child I know was misdiagnosed as being ADHD actually has 2 types of Autism.

I can’t to do as it was done to me and it still horrifies me to this day that my mother subjected me to it

Sure we used to be able to hit kids… My own mum used a wooden spoon and I don’t care.

BUT for child safety and police to have been contacted suggests this was not a one off; also that it was loud meaning excessive force.

Throw the book at her.

Wasn’t that long ago when that was an acceptable form of punishment. Poor mother panicked when her daughter disobeyed something she was told for her own good. My husband had cops called once just for yelling at ours when he thought she’d eaten super glue. Crazy world we live in.

Wow! I don’t know that anyone knows what this poor Mum was going through or the entirety of her situation. I don’t believe this is something she would do regularly or necessarily again… but this was an unusual situation. I think she panicked and acted in fear.

Sounds to me this mum needs support and help dealing with her daughter, no fine.

I’m not sure that it’s a natural reaction to hit your child with a wooden spoon when you are in a panic. Was this hamburger meat cooked? This woman clearly needs help with her situation – not a fine.

Outcome is a bit extreme but i dont think the story adds up like why would she already put the medication in the meat and why hit your child so hard that it bruises because your stressed that you may have just poisoned them

I think the Mum needs help with the situation not criticism and being fined. Did they ever think they have just made life even harder for her. She just panicked as I’m sure we all would have done in that situation

I think this Mum needs more support. It was a bad decision but it sounds like there is a lot going on and more support is the most likely to prevent further incidents.

Gosh, it seems extreme to fine her. Perhaps the thing to do was provide her with some additional or extra support for her daughter’s behaviours?!

she was panicked ok but then she frustrated, this was frustration based not panic based

I would have taken her straight to the hospital so they could check her and give her something to vomit the meat up. I would not have taken to her with a wooden spoon. After all the child obviously didn’t mean to purposely eat the meat, she was most likely hungry.

I would’ve been more concerned than angry if she could’ve been poisoned

Interesting choice of words in the article. Days later when the police found her daughter… did the girl run away and then say it was because her mum hit her? I know what it’s like when your child is in danger, you do panic. She had told her daughter the danger of the meat and said not to touch it. Perhaps in her panic she thought a smack would get her to drop the burger and stop eating it much quicker and easier than asking her. Grabbing the burger from her may not have worked out either as the girl may have resisted, tried to run off whilst eating it or may have just shoved whatever was left in her hand in her mouth as defiance. I don’t believe the mother should have been charged over it. A warning at the very least, but not charged!

You can never strike your child with any implement whether frustrated or not.

I wonder who dobbed her in? I feel for the mum though, it can’t be easy constantly dealing with a child with behavioural disorders. We used to cop a smack with rulers, thongs, belts and parent’s hands and no Police were ever involved.

How do you get to hitting with a wooden spoon out of panic? My first action when I thought I’d poisoned my son when he ate a nurofen tablet, was to call the poisons hotline. I never considered hitting him because I’m not sure it would achieve anything. I think this mum needs to use a bit more common sense as to where she leaves drugged meat.