What would you do in this situation?

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I speak often on the issue of child abuse, and the following scenario is often the most discussed. We all periodically seem to be in a grocery store and/or other type of store when we see it happening...an adult who appears to be out of control with their child by either excessive yelling, neglect, physical discipline and/or another form of discipline that is an excessive response to the situation. What would you do? I think many of us have a certain hesitation to get involved in such situations. We don't know the entire situation, the family history or exactly what's going on. Sometimes, it's simply so uncomfortable that we don't want to jump in and risk our own embarrassment or being deemed wrong. Other times, we simply don't know how to intervene. As a longtime activist in this area, I've worked hard to get myself to "do something." While I've been known to initiate communication with the parent, I also find that giving the child (especially with small children) can really de-escalate a situation by making the parent realize they've been noticed and by distracting the child and potentially diffusing the conflict. I'm curious, though, what would you do (if anything)?