Parenting Skills 101

Okay, so I am walking in my neighborhood and as I approach a house I hear a very angry youngin holler "I want to go outside! Why can't I play? Let me go outside!" Dad's response? "Well you can't, so just shut your mouth!" AHHHHHHH! Do not tell your child to shut his mouth!!!!! This is very bad parenting. This is not excusable. This is just simply wrong. Dad could have said, "Hmmm, where did my little boy go? My little guy would never scream at me like that." Or maybe, "I can tell you're upset but until you can speak to me appropriately I can't answer you." Another response might have been, "Well I know you want to go outside, but it is time for a bath now, so you can play more tomorrow if you can behave tonight." Dad even could have said, "You are making me very mad right now and I have no patience left, so I'll just go in the other room while you finish your tantrum." But the very worst thing he could say, he said. Poor little boy.