If I needed a reason

to not tell my kid that she was bad, she showed me today.

I spoke sternly to her because she dumped some crackers out-crackers I'd told her not to pick up and not to toss around. She very deliberately dumped them as I was watching and on my way to take them away from her. And I was angry that she had done it.

So after I picked up the crackers (because she sat next to me crying-I'd told her to pick them up but I ended up doing it myself to prevent them from getting crushed into the ground or eaten by Miriam) she came over to me and said "Mama, I sad." (We've been talking about emotions and sometimes I'll tell her that "Miriam is sad" when she's crying.)

My heart broke. I picked her up, hugged her a bunch and told her that I loved her a lot and that sometimes when she's not being a good listener I get angry.

But I don't ever want my kid to come to me and tell me, "Mama, I bad."