Moulding children while they are young

Waiting outside a shop while Katja queued for coffees, and see a man and small child walking towards me along the pavement The child is holding something cradled in his two hands reaching awkwardly up for his father to see, but low enough so that he can inspect it at the same time.
Father- its a fuckin shame.
The boy makes a mhmhmhm sort of noise, half way between a yes and a whimper.
Father- its a fuckin shame son, its a real fuckin shame so it is.
The boy continues to peer at the object in his hands as they walk and looks up, startled, when his father stops at a woman waiting outside the newsagents. She asks the boy, who is staring again at whatever he is holding - what's that there? and he replies without hesitation- its a fuckin shame.
She slaps him across the face with a huge backhand and he staggers back into the plate glass window of the newsagent which echoes with a tremendous crang. She screeches- dinner use that language in front of yer fither.
The boy steps forward off the still vibrating window and appears not to have noticed either the shout or the blow that had hurled him backwards, and asks his mother -do you think he can fix it?