I think it’s important to differentiate yelling at your kids from outright psychologically abusing them. I’m not going to lie to you, there’s a lot of yelling in my household.

I have two boys, both of whom have ADHD. They are often very difficult to deal with. I’m not the only person who thinks this. Everyone does.

Sometimes I lose my temper. What am I saying? A lot of times I lose my temper. But I don’t humiliate my kids. There’s no name calling. I don’t psychologically abuse them with threats. I don’t put them down or reject them. I sometimes have to raise my voice so that they will take me seriously. Yes, sometimes I yell at my kids. It is what it is.

That said, abuse is abuse. I do think that a parent who is belittling and degrading a child can be just as abusive as someone who is physically abusing their kid.

However, I think to tell parents that they can’t ever yell or the kids are gonna end up depressed. Pu-leeese. In my case, this just isn’t a realistic thing to ask of me. Sometimes yelling is going to happen. But there’s also plenty of times when I’m cuddling, loving, and validating my kids.

The kids are going to be OK.