LittleZabba and I spent some time at the park this afternoon. While there we saw a man attempt to talk with his son about some improper behavior. The son stopped to listen, but had a smirk on his face while his father was talking. Dad didn’t like that and started to yell at his son. The son started to walk away. As the Dad stepped forward to get closer to his son the son ran away. We then watched as the Dad chased his son around the park. When he finally caught his son he slapped him across the face. They finished their talk and then play time resumed like nothing happened. The Dad then walked back to continue talking to his friend. He began to rationalize his behavior to his friend. He said, “I didn’t pop him very hard.”

Fast forward 20 minutes.

Same Dad is cautioning a parent about having their son join a football team. Why?

“Because there is a lot of yelling and they aren’t very nice.”