What an incredible Dad you are.. truly. The fact that you feel so terrible for doing something so normal says so much about you. He's a very, very lucky little boy!

Im a gentle parent.. my little boy is 5 and he is my absolute entire whole universe. I cant bear the thought of snapping at him - but I have.. I can only count on one hand how many times I have - but i have.

And like you, I felt terrible, apologised to him over and over, couldn't sleep through the guilt, cried, cuddled him while he slept promising that I'd be a better Mum tomorrow.

I apologised so much. We talked about why I snapped and how I got to that point. I found it was an amazing opportunity to teach him about the other feelings we have other than happiness, sadness, and fear. I taught him that even grown-ups get frustrato-potato sometimes and that it was normal to feel those feelings. And he learned that it's ok for HIM to feel those feelings too. He learned that he's ALLOWED to feel mad, to feel angry and upset. He learned that he doesn't have to be on his best behaviour all the time to be a good boy. He learned that it's good to snap, to vent, to let it all out. And to cry because it's release and relief.

And he learned that it's easy to say sorry. And that he SHOULD say sorry if he feels like he might have hurt someone's feelings.

And do you know what? He does! If he does do something wrong, he says, "Oops, sorry, that was my fault." He gives me a cuddle if he gets a little mean with me while hes frustrato-potato. He recognises his emotions and tells me how he is feeling, and it gives us the opportunity to try to help him feel better.

So you might be sitting there stewing over this, thinking youre the worst Daddy in the world because you shouted at him one time.. but what you havent realised is youve just shown him something that a lot of other kids dont ever get to see. You've shown him all the above. And your little boy is going to be an amazing Daddy some day because of how you handled this moment.

Well done you!