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I think venting to other adults is one thing, but I agree with Marci, that letting a child hear such a thing is painful for that child. Kids can't figure out that their parents are stressed. I didn't understand the meaning of the word stress until I was a young adult (fortunately for me, my parents did a decent job of shielding me from it, until my brothers got in some trouble, than I learned quick.)
I do worry about the days I may have where I am overwhelmed, and how I'll deal with them. I hope I can remember in that moment, how sensitively I feel for children now, in this moment, and draw from those feelings.
I know people who have treated their kids this way, and it is just so sad. And often, the kids are troubled, but I wonder if they were troubled before the comments or if the comments knocked them down a few pegs on the self esteem pole.
We all have bad days. We all say things in the heat of the moment that we don't mean, and we can apologize for. Once in awhile is one thing, but these kinds of comments to kids I fear can do some damage. Especially if it's more than once in awhile.
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