Good parenting

I am not a perfect mother. Far from it, I'm sure.

But when I'm standing in the pocketbook section of a store, and I can hear you scream at your child at the checkout, I think my ranking on the scale of good parenting rises up a few points.

I don't know what was going on up there. I don't know what the kid did or didn't do or what kind of day the mother was having. But I tell you what I do know.

I know that no kid needs to be screamed at that way. If you need to reprimand your kid, fine. But there's no reason to be in his face yelling so loudly that he's flinching with every word you spit out.

I can't stop thinking about that little boy. If his mother treats him that way in public, I just wonder how she treats him in private.

Children are too precious to be treated with anything but love and patience and kindness.

Now, don't think that I have some precious little angel who does no wrong. Biscuit has his moments. I had a conversation with Jeff this morning about our sweet baby that included the phrase "drop kick him out the back door."

But I also reminded myself that he's a child. He's learning and growing and testing his boundaries. He is innocent and trusting, and the worst thing I could do for him would be to ruin that innocence and trust.

I hope and pray that I can always remember that ... even when I want to drop kick him out the back door.