Parenting lesson #2547

On our way home from NJ this past weekend, I saw a father accidentally knock down, then yell and ultimately embarrass his 8 year old daughter in the middle of JFK airport. She was in tears and all I wanted to do was give her a hug and tell her it would be OK. I am sure they made up and ultimately (I hope) he apologized to her for treating her that way, but what makes me so sad is that it was obviously a summer family trip and she will most likely make that a prominent memory above all of the others. He was angry at her for slowing them down as they tried to get to their flight and in the end, his actions made them even later. I understand that your children can frustrate you (trust me, I have a 2 year old and a 3 month old) but to embarrass them in public is unforgivable in my mind. I wanted to know what could make a dad do that to his child. Why didn't he take her aside and explain to her his frustration? Even a stern grab of the arm to move to a quiet corner would have been better than what he did. As I watched all of this unfold, I couldn't help but think of how important a father/daughter relationship is and how I felt like he may have damaged a small part of that with one simple incident that could have been avoided. As we walked to our gate with our own daughter in tow, I tried to store the emotions I felt in hopes that if a similar situation ever occurred with me, I could recall how I was feeling right then, and take a deep breath before I did anything I might regret later.