Mandated Reporter

I am a mandated reporter.

There I said it. I am by law, legally responsible for any behavior against a child that I witness or suspect and do not report. If I don't report it within 48 hours and something happens, I could be in trouble.

This is a responsibility that I take very seriously. I train others on what it means to be a mandated reporter. It is not something that I have had to follow through with this very often but I am away of my responsibility.

I am also a teacher, life should be safe for all children. Part of my job is to provide a safe environment. So If I see a child being picked on, a fight, or bullying I stop it.

As I was walking with my family after our outing, I witnessed an older boy chase down a younger one, grab his shoulders and knee him in the butt. He then turned the younger one around and punched him in abdomen.

Usually I pause and wait, to see if I really need to step in. Most times I don't. But today I did. I looked for an adult-- no one was around. I listened to see if the younger boy was laughing, crying, or something. He was saying "ow." So I yelled out. "You probably don't want to be fighting out in public." The boys stopped. That was my goal.

If I was at school I would have stopped them and then walked them to the office. If I was in the store, I would have stopped them. So I did.

The mom then stepped out from behind a car yelling at me to let her be the mom. I was fine with that. But she kept yelling at me for interfering. "Mam, I am a mandated reporter."

That didn't set well. It never does. Since the boys had stopped and there was an adult around I kept walking. They had the appearance of being well cared for.

I just wanted to stop the bullying; give the younger one a chance to escape. I didn't bring in the mandated reporter part until she attacked me verbally. This mom stood and watched her older son do that to her younger son. The blows he landed were not gentle and they were not in play. I know brothers fight, I know a younger brother can egg on the older one until he hits. By standing there she endorsed the actions through silence. Who will the younger child run to if happens again? Not her.