question on reporting other parent to garda for hitting kids

i reported my kids mam to tusla and the gardai and they were very helpful initially, now however tusla is taking ages to assign a social worker due to demand, fair enough. but the gardai special investigation unit said people normally go to them as a last resort or sort of made me feel like i shouldnt be doing it, "people usually think if its really best for the kids to go down this path". they'll apparantly be interviewed and maybe be in court online or something. need to be available for cross examination.

i got the vibe that they didnt think i should be doing it or trying to talk me out of it, which isnt what i got from the last 2 gardai i spoke with. its made me question if its the right thing or not.

the basically said this is for people who want justice against the person that hit the kids, but i'd still need to go family law route for any actually changes in custody etc. (im waiting to hear back from legal aid on this direction)

is it overkill to go gardai/ criminal court for their mam slapping them? will it do more harm than good to the kids in the long run and how they view there mam or me? im already in process for tusla and family law route as well. the garda sort of has me 2nd guessing myself now to be honest.