Before we delve into this, I want to say: I’m talking to myself, here. I’m certainly not pointing fingers, more like opening my hands in admittance, and perhaps welcoming others (all of us?) into the “irritable parents’ club”.
Whether your baby has had you up for most of the night, your toddler has refused to put on their shoes for 40 minutes (ask me how I know), or your teenager wants to start a debate about every instruction you give them, it feels like being irritable is part of the parenting package. But it doesn’t have to be.
Taking irritability seriously
Although irritability doesn’t sound that bad, it is in reality a form of anger. Snapping at your kids is not shouting at them, but it can have the same emotional effects. I wonder if being grumpy with people might even, in some ways, be worse than anger. Anger, after all, is not always sinful: it is right to be angry at injustice, at God being dishonoured, and at times at suffering.
