She did act in frustration. OK yes, we all are capable of that but please do realise abuse is commonly about frustration too. I am sure she will cooperate well with CPS and they can also help her with the stress of dealing with your brother. These things go bad when CPS is treated as the enemy rather than the facilitator of a better outcome. Whoever reported her will be best disappointed if she embraces the opportunity of assistance that can be provided, her mental health deserves some care too and I am sure she is smart and loving enough to embrace the chance to get the best out of a bad situation. I hope she gets all the love support and courage she needs in trying to look after the mental health of her husband and the well being of her children as well as looking after herself, she so very much deserves it.

Accidentally pushed him. The child fell to the ground. THEY hurt THEIR wrist. Nothing to do with the mom, passive language. It's all the kids fault the way you wrote it. If your brother get's frustrated with how hard life is in recovery and snapped and punched your sister in the face, would you chalk it up to him being overwhelmed? That he did it by accident? That he didn't mean to hurt her? That she fell and hit her head on the table and broke her own nose? That she shouldn't have set him off? That he's not that type, that it will never happen again? Or would you worry that this was the start of abuse?

I notice you aren't saying taht anyone LIED to CPS or exagerrated. They just "snitched" right? They told CPS the truth- your sister lashed out in anger at her children, physically lashed out and hurt her own child. You don't "accidentally" push a child in frustration. She lashed out irrationally out of anger, without thinking it through. It was a human moment, a snap of anger. But it was NOT an accident. She got angry and lashed out at her child. And the child broke a bone as a result. You are giving her the benefit of the doubt, which is understandable. Other people see what she literally, physically did and go "oh dear, if it happened once..." and are worried for those kids. So many people who hit kids and continue to hit kids will explain they didn't mean to. The kids made them mad. They were overwhelmed. They were frustrated and angry.

Lots of things can happen by accident - grabbing a child about to fall down a flight of stairs can dislocate an elbow or shoulder - doctors are used to seeing this, and dealing with the hysterical parents who are sure they're about to be arrested for abuse. Fingers and hands get shut in doors. Little hands grab hot things. They are trained to see signs of abuse, and ask leading questions to determine what happened. This is abuse - and tacit complicity.

You don't accidentally push someone in frustration. If they were frustrated they abused their child and broke their arm. Having a father with substance abuse problems and a mother who breaks their bones? Yikes, CPS needs to be involved

She pushed her child out of frustration. The child fell and broke a bone. She then waited until the next day to get the child any medical care. Why wouldn’t you report her to CPS? That’s abuse.

Ask yourself: who am I helping here? You don't sound willing to jump in and help the family deal with trauma. You just want to get involved in drama sleuthing. She broke her child's bone and you want to know who tattled. I don't see any info on why you think CPS should not be involved.

Of course CPS needs to get involved. This needs to be looked at by people who are experienced in determining whether it was an actual accident or abuse. You shouldn't be horrified that a family member made the call, you should be GRATEFUL. Actually pushing a child in frustration and then the kid breaks a bone, yeah that's abuse. Depends on what exactly happened, she could have been frustrated and that's why she stormed off angrily, flailing her arms, and that's how she accidentally "pushed" the kid. But the description doesn't sound like that's what happened, and abusers will always make it seem like it was just an accident. And you as a family member clearly don't have the objectivity to interpret this situation, CPS will be more likely to cut through the c**p and figure out what really happened. By the way, most abusers do it in a moment of frustration, that's no excuse.

This is probably the reason your mother doesn't like your SIL. She knew she was bad news. And the way SIL abused her children, she was right. I'm sorry OP but that WAS abusive.

YTA. My guess is a medical professional blew the whistle. Nurses are trained to look for signs of abuse and are legally obligated to report concerns to authorities, as they should be. SIL can deal with the consequences of her own actions.

My upstair neighbors played the stereo really loud (lots of bass), so I politely asked them to turn it down, I had to go to work and the kids to school. Every time I complained, they ignored me. I contacted the manager, nothing. Finally, I called the police and they were cited. Well, about 2 weeks later 2 ladies from CPS came knocking. "Someone" had reported that my son had 2 black eyes. I had just finished cleaning, the little one was taking her nap and I called for my son to come home. No black eyes, no I never hit him, etc. I told her who had called and why. How'd you like that $500 citation for filing a false report, Ms. Jackson? (PS - I even had cookies in the oven). In addition, the Jackson's were evicted.

Why do you want to know? Your best bet is to let CPS do their job and be honest if you are questioned. Confronting whoever sent in the report will just make the investigation worse for everyone. If they find there is abuse you will be grateful someone called CPS

When my niece was around four years old, she was quite a handful. It was to the point where her visits to the emergency room averaged twice a week. At one point, the E.R. staff were ready to notify the police. But when they saw her try to climb over her mother's back while she was tying her shoes and land on her back on the floor, the staff realized what my sister was dealing with on a regular basis. I would side-eye any mandated reporters that didn't do their job. Whoever called CPS on the SIL may very well have kept a molehill from turning into an active volcano. There is never a good reason to abuse a child, even if it's your own.

I would also want to know who reported it. However, I would not need to know, and there's big difference between 'wants' and 'needs'. Offer your help to this struggling family. Help them make their lives easier.

Not an AH for wondering, but you're an AH for digging into it. Confidentially in such matters is the best way to make sure people come forward and report abuse. The most likely source is either the hospital, or a GP. If there have been other injuries or if the story and the x-ray don't line up, it will trigger an investigation. Spend more time making sure the kids are ok and less on who thinks they aren't. Substance abuse in the home means they are already at a much higher risk for a lot of issues, even if no abuse is directed at them, but that is also more likely.

One does not "accidentally" push a child out of frustration. As a survivor of childhood abuse, this was a deliberate act, and that makes it abuse. The MIL, or whomever, was not wrong to call CPS, early intervention can help both the parent and child.

So in the article it says it was an "accident." Was it or wasn't it? If it was genuinely a true accident and OP saw it and that it was an accident then I'd 100% try to back her up. But if it's unknown if it was an accident or that it happened out of frustration then a CPS call would most likely be enough consequence to make sure it doesn't happen again. Either way it sounds like SIL could use some help because her situation is one that can lead to her becoming abusive because instead of receiving the help she needs, she's just getting judgement in return. It sounds to me like OP is almost siding with SIL so it feels like the most innocent scenario is probably the most likely one.

I don’t understand many things here. The eldest had an outburst- how old is he, what kind of outburst? My daughter had an outburst and dragged me like a rag through the parking lot- was it like this? Or was it like” I hate you for not buying me this cute purse!” ? Why does your mother think your SIL is the reason for your brother’s mental health issues? What about your sister? Are you from the US? CPS in different countries work differently. I personally don’t think you’d be the AH for just wanting to know who reported your SIL, but I’d rather leave to your brother to talk to your mother and get her reasons. I think your family has some issues that need to be resolved for the future and the good health of everyone involved.