To say to your child, during a calm conversation, “You know, I love you deeply, I am so happy to have you, but I’m not sure I was perfectly cut out for this role,” is not at all the same as yelling at your child that they’re ruining your life and you wish they’d never been born. It could even disperse an obscure anxiety your kids may feel that some failing on their part, some imagined disappointment or shortcoming, could be the cause of your regret.
