I wrote yesterday about dealing with bad moods in the home. An interesting, especially difficult case for that is if you or your spouse is in a bad mood and end up being harsher or more critical with one of the nuggets than normal. This is a tough spot for the parent who is not currently operating not in crazy person mode.
On one hand, you try not to ever show a non-united front in front of the kiddos. On the other… the other person is a hot mess at the present moment.
The best solution I have seen is to agree and support, but rephrase the message or discipline in a more gentle and loving way. Be warned: This is a difficult art.
An hypothetical example:
Temporary bad mood parent to kiddo, “How can you keep doing this same thing I have talked to you about 1,000,000 times. You have no idea how incredibly frustrating this is.”
Good mood, but in a tough spot parent, “He/She is right little Timmy, you really need to get this figured out. You can see this is important to your Dad and Mom. Will you please try and work on it. Let’s think of a way to make fixing it a habit together. You can get this.”
And again… don’t feel too proud after doing it… your tough day is likely just around the corner and then it will be you who will be needing an extra helping of grace and support from your spouse. : )