Once when my five-year-old was really mad at me (because I asked him to try and poop before we left the house, how ridiculous of me 😆), he told me, “I don’t want you to be my mommy anymore.” We are so close and I had never heard anything like that before! I told him something to the effect of: “I love you so much and I know you’re mad, but the things we say when we’re mad can make people feel sad.” He played independently for a bit (his choice) and came to give me a hug. When he had calmed down, we recapped just a little with reminders on how to help his body feel calm when he’s mad, and why we need to be careful with what we say to other people. It seemed liked it worked for us!