I yelled in front of my toddlers :(
I have two kids, 3.5 and 1.5. Yesterday I was driving in the turn lane and someone abruptly tried to rapidly pull in right as I was going past them; I guess they didn't look first. But they laid on their horn for some reason as if I'd done something wrong, then tailgated me super close before pulling off the road to swerve in front of me then slamming on their brakes. I beeped my horn and then they pulled forward a few feet before slamming on brakes again. They did this over and over and over and I was scared for my kids in the back, that we might get in an accident--but also the anger was intense and I was yelling fuck you, fuck you, what the fuck every time it happened.
I know I need to not do that, because this guy's road rage could have ended badly. I will NEVER do that again, because once it set in what the consequences could have been, I was horrified.
But I'm ALSO horrified about showing that much anger in front of my kids. When we pulled over, I saw that my 3.5 year old had unshed tears in his eyes. I apologized to both kids and explained that mommy was scared, and she wasn't angry at them, and shouldn't have yelled.
But I still feel horrible and worry I've done serious damage to them.