Sharon, I don't (and have never) disagree with anything that you are saying in your last paragraph, except the part about HARD evidence. As much as people want to think so, this isn't a smoking gun. You cannot see how tightly her hands are around the child, you can't see her "fist", and you can't see the effect on the child.   What you see is a woman that APPEARS to be going berserk. Ever watch a movie with a fight scene? When I see a wrestler get hit over the head with a metal chair, why isn't that assault and battery? The HARD EVIDENCE is telling me that I've seen a crime committed. Of course that is actors and this is real life, but that is an example of how the eye can be deceived. Film and video are a series of still pictures which the mind INTERPRETS as motion. By nature it is a deception of reality. You cannot be 100% certain of what you are seeing.

No, I'm not saying the video was doctored in any way.

While she has admitted striking the child, she has not (at least in any interview that I read) claimed that her blows were severe enough to inflict damage. She admitted to being a mother who let her emotions take over and did things that she shouldn't have, but her intent was never to hurt the child.   That may seem like a contradiction, but it really isn't if you examine the situation.

I am not as certain as you are about what I am seeing on the videotape. Again, I'm not saying you are wrong - but there is an uncertainty that must be questioned. In this country you are innocent until proven guilty. It seems that in this case and in many others people are rushing to judgement.

Sharon, I agee with you when you say that abuse takes many forms. I am not saying that Toogood is innocent. All I have been saying is that she deserves a fair hearing and presentation of evidence. The child needs to be examined for ALL the abuse you mentioned. If there is harm then it needs to be dealt with in a manner that will end the abuse and give the child a normal life (if any of us can define normal).

All I say, again and again, is that we can't rush to judgement on EITHER side. Everyone seems to be losing sight of the child's welfare and making decisions on what THEY think is best.

Ron