The point was the kid ran into me, not the other way around. Where did I hang out? I lived over the hills from Oakland!!!
Making children responsible for their own behavior was not something common there. Ask any of the school teachers who have a hard time maintaining disciplin. I'll stop my rant.
Lashing and tongue lashing is NOT beating.

...."picked him up by his shirt collar and was lashing him...." reads like physical to me

Agreed. I apologize for overstating the irresponsibility of American parents. I still think it IS bad for a child to ride his bike into a car. His mother was telling him so.

And a lawsuit wouldn't be uncommon in that situation in the US - whether child or adult was involved.

Sometimes when accidents like that happen, parents are really scared and want to make sure that the kid is more careful.

I agree with Pam and that was my first thought. I remembered losing my nephew at a museum. I went nuts when he finally showed back up. My fear manifested itself as anger, at least until the tears started to flow (mine, that is).

Lashing is a term used her for open handed hitting - like spanking. It is not beating.

Part of the beauty of Belize to me is most parents expect their children to behave and act accordingly when they do not. That is the way of the US when I was a child. Belizeans very seldomly "lash" or beat their children, but they know the "threat" is real. And for the most part, the children are a major part of the charm of Belize. We have children of friends who no matter how hard I try, refuse to call me anything other than "Mister Dave". They do it out of respect for all elders.

It doesn't sound like the child was abused or anything close to it. The mother was taking measures to instill reality into her child's point of reference for future outings on his bike. Its unlikely that mother requires the self-appointed child-rearing police to successfully raise her kid.

Abuse comes in many forms, I have no idea if this treatment was abusive or not. I didn't get the impression the child purposely headed for the golf cart so he could hit it with his bicycle, rather it sounded like an accident. So what I don't understand is the benefit of yelling at him in public and then striking him, even if it's with an open hand. Nor do I understand the criticism of American parents who don't behave in this manner. I do agree with luvinlife: unless abusive, parenting styles should be left to individual parents. I just wouldn't choose this particular style as a cause for celebration.

Collyk.....Keep observing more of those "things" that happen and tells us about them. Most of us will enjoy them.