I was listening to “Focus on the family” on the radio again on the way home from work. The topic was about how as parents, our emotions can affect our children. The guy said that when we, as parents feel sad or angry or happy etc, our children (like radar) can pick up our emotions and react to it. They are very capable of acting out when we shout, yell, scream, snap at them — all the big and *bad* emotions. So, next time when our children behave badly, we should do a emotional check on ourselves before we punish them. On the other hand, when we are happy and cheerful, they can sense it and they are happy too.
One suggestion: when we are feeling the big bad emotions, we should walk away, get out of the house and go for a walk. Or better still, bring the kids to the park and play with them. That will help. I can attest to that.