True story:
A four year old little girl has a disagreement in preschool with another girl and shoves her to the ground. As the other girl gets up, she slaps the aggressor on the arm and tells her to leave her alone. Their teacher sees the fight, makes them take a time-out, and prepares a note for BOTH parents. When she met with the aggressive child’s parent, her mother’s response was, “Which girl hit my child? Where is she? Point her out. I will make sure that never happens again. What did she do to make my kid so angry? I am sure she deserved it!”
Yuck.
Anger seems to be a “thing” lately. It seems we are all walking around ready to blow like a powder keg. The saddest part about this whole issue is that there is always a witness to your explosions when you are a mom. Your children are always watching. They are watching when you scream at the driver that cut you off in traffic (I was once screamed at and given the middle finger in busy traffic by a mom who had 4 kids in her car).
They are watching when your food is not right at a restaurant, and you dehumanize the waiter with your cutting remarks. They are watching when you explode at anything and everything that may not go your way, instead of rationally looking at a situation for what it is and trying to solve the problem in a way that doesn’t annihilate the person that you feel did you wrong.
I have seen children of angry moms act out in ways that is both frustrating and sad. Instead of cultivating and modeling behaviors that lean more towards understanding, kindness, and compassion, we are showing them bratty, self-indulgent, and explosive tendencies. We should want better for our children.
Just something to think about the next time your burger comes back too pink or your child’s teacher sends a note home.
Tara is a mother of four children who loves shopping for mid-century, modern antiques and making quilts. She stayed at home with her children until they were high school aged and then went to graduate school to finish her degree. She volunteers with organizations that work for the well-being of women and children and currently tutor at Seltzer Elementary.
