Getting Yelled At

Yesterday my kids missed the bus. Since it was only their second day at a new school I happily drove to the school to pick them up. As I approached a bus that was stopped, the bus driver (who happened to be our bus driver) waved me down to stop. Seeing that the kids were safely off the bus I rolled down my window and stopped to talk with him. I thought he had some information on why my kids missed the bus. Anyway, as I got closer he yelled stop, stop STOP. By this point his face was really red and he was obviously mad. What I thought was him wanting to talk to me was really a motion to stop until he had shut the bus door. Yeah, I know, pretty dumb of me not to have thought of that. I was a little distracted about the kids missing the bus and wondered if they would be safe standing outside the school waiting for me. Anyway, even after I profusely apologized he was still obviously mad. He impatiently waved me to move along. As I drove on I felt that terrible "being yelled at" feeling. You know the one, someone hates you (or at least it seems that way) when you didn't intentionally make a mistake. You even apologized for your mistake and they are still holding it against you. It made me think about my own yelling I sometimes do at home. I thought the kids probably feel the same way, like they're hated. I think speaking kindly to them even while dealing out consequences will help them feel happier and better about themselves in the long run. Sometimes when I yell at Grant (seems the thing to do when he's wielding a sharp knife) he just lays down and cries. He obviously doesn't understand and doesn't really deserve to be yelled at. So I'm determined not to yell anymore.