AN OUTRAGED mum has taken to social media to complain about a hospital receptionist who told her four-year-old daughter, “I bet he likes you,” after a boy punched her in the face so hard she needed stitches.

Merritt Smith, from Columbus, Ohio, said the staff member’s words condoned the idea that “hurting is flirting” and set the tone for future male violence against women.

“My four year old knows ‘That’s not how we show we like someone. That was not a good choice.’”, she said.

Ms Smith took her daughter, Joni, to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus after she was hit by a boy at her school.

She was so upset by the comment that she posted about the interaction on Facebook. Her post got hundreds of responses and has been shared more than 30,000 times.

She wrote: “Dear man at the registration desk at children’s hospital, l’m positive that you didn’t think that statement through. As soon as I heard it I knew that is where it begins. That statement is where the idea that hurting is flirting begins to set a tone for what is acceptable behavior.

She went on: “In that moment, hurt and in a new place, worried about perhaps getting a shot or stitches you were a person we needed to help us and your words of comfort conveyed a message that someone who likes you might hurt you.

“No. I will not allow that message to be ok. I will not allow it to be louder than ‘That’s not how we show we like each other.’ At that desk you are in a position of influence, whether you realize it or not. You thought you were making the moment lighter. It is time to take responsibility for the messages we as a society give our children.”

Ms Smith said she had emailed the hospital about the incident and had got a response thanking her for her feedback, and acknowledging “they had never thought of that situation in that light and consider it food for thought.”