Sadly, it's not the slapping (looks like a slap not a punch to me) that /really/ hurts kids in that situation, it's the words that usually come with the parent's temper and lack of self-control that do the lasting damage. Regardless, hitting in the heat of the moment like that is /never/ a proper deterrent nor punishment for a child even if one believes in spanking, and certainly not for one that young. Poor kiddo... Hopefully they will teach that father, if he was the father, patience, because there's at least, at least, another 15 years of patience needed for that little one, if he's already losing it over the kiddo merely running around in a store, he's in for a world of anger later.
