Knitters Greenhouse

The following is a disturbing video from youtube. A few days ago I was at Meijer, standing in the check-out line. A young mom and her toddler were in front of me, and the child wanted the "Dips" or some kind of packaged ice cream, and the top flew off of the box. The mom grabbed the box, and the little girl cried, loudly. She'd already been fussy, but this made her really upset. I tried to lessen the tension by saying, "oh, that happened to me with my blueberries a while ago," and "blah..blah...my grand-daughter is about her age..." It didn't help at all. The mom, being obviously stressed, popped her HARD. I was disturbed, especially because I'd been told the little one was the same age as Arya, 16 months.

It all makes me wonder: What kind of mom was I for my kids? So many times I yelled at my kids when their only transgression was that it was late, my house was a mess, or I got frustated and tired. I even hit them, but never in public. It wasn't beating - but it was wrong. (That time when Philip's nose started bleeding is another story...)

I pray for those busy parents of little ones these days. It seems like there are ever more reasons for them to be too busy, too stressed, and too tired, just like I was. I want to think of effective ways to lend a hand so violence is not used to control children. Even more so, what are the things I am teaching through my "grown-up" actions?