BABY, I WILL spank the HELL out of you!

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Example: I go to feed my cat, who is naughty, and as I feed her, I coo things at her like "I'm gonna beat you up if you don't shut up oh yes I am! Who's a stupid cat who is dumb a brick! You are!" She only hears a cute voice. I'm never actually threatening her at all, I'm joking to amuse myself. I would never beat my cat, even though she really is dumb as a brick.

But otherwise....O.o

The problem with that is the fact that cats understand you.

Go to a Dog. Say in a happy, goofy voice "Who's a stupid puppy? Who's a drooling moron? Yes you are! Yes you are!" and the dog who only can really pick up on your tone and facial expressions is likely thinking "I don't know what he's saying, but he sounds happy so it must be good."

Do the same thing to a cat and it sits there and looks at you thinking "That's it thumb monkey, next hairball is going in your underwear drawer."

[Sunshine]

bwahaha at thumb monkey...and EEK at original poster. how sad

[BeenThereDoneThat]

The problem with that is the fact that cats understand you.

Go to a Dog. Say in a happy, goofy voice "Who's a stupid puppy? Who's a drooling moron? Yes you are! Yes you are!" and the dog who only can really pick up on your tone and facial expressions is likely thinking "I don't know what he's saying, but he sounds happy so it must be good."

Do the same thing to a cat and it sits there and looks at you thinking "That's it thumb monkey, next hairball is going in your underwear drawer."

My cat is an equal opportunity imp...no matter how nice as pie I am to her and how much of any given meal I'm eating ends up in her mouth instead of mine, she still leaves me the hairballs.

[Nayeli_Sabia]

I've had times when my daughter was younger, when I'd say "(Daughter's name) I love you, but I really hate you right now. PLEASE, just stop" It was before she could understand what was being said, and it is a way of coping with stress. I did not, however, ever say anything like this in public, out of fear of the public.

Parenting, and post birth hormones(which can take over a year to re-balance) has a learning curve. This incident sounds weird, but I try not to judge too harshly.

[Cai1987]

I'd prefer the whisper-singing to me losing my temper with my almost-2-year-old at about 4 AM and yelling at him to go back to sleep. Granted, he had been up for over an hour at that point, but I had to go walk around the block for a while and clear my head before I could forgive myself enough to go back to bed.

[Skeen]

Maybe the mother in the OP had read that latest best seller, Go the F**k to Sleep.

I laughed so hard I snorted Pepsi out my nose.

It burns.

[tollbaby]

Wow... that mom was scary.... My hand would have been on the phone to call Children's Aid at that point.

[depechemodefan]

No, when I read the title my mind didn't go to the gutter-I'm so used to the assholes here at the library threatening bodily harm to their kids or s.o.

I usually use my sweet voice to call my cat when he makes a dash outside, "come here Button, come back here you fucking cat." But I woudn't use that language with my family or with a bf.

Come to think of it, when I'm around brothers (like my cousins, or my ex-bf and his brother) I am shocked when they call each other bitch. As in "Bitch, you didn't take out the garbage." They are like hostile-joking with each other but I'm just shocked by it So if I heard that woman talking to her kid like that, I would get involved, and get cursed out for my troubles.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

I second the "bad day" and "post-preggers hormones" thing. Sounds like what my mom (and many others) have gone through. As long as she was actively caring for the baby and not hurting him/her, then... it'd still get a hairy eyeball, but it's well enough. I might have asked if I could help.
After all, some mothers, who are completely normal and loving, actually seriously contemplate killing their newborn. ._____. It's because of post-partum depression and the mess of hormones their bodies are currently stewing in. This is why you have help from Hubbies and grandparents and the community-- to get you through insanity! ( I read about this years ago, and it still scares me.)