The other day, I was reading a book to my 4-year-old. In the story, a child is having a tantrum and turns into a little monster. Throughout the book, she uses different techniques to regulate her emotions, eventually turning back into herself. After I finished reading, my daughter turned to me and asked, “When I’m upset, do I turn into a monster?”

Trying to destigmatize her big emotions (a la gentle parenting), I said “No, you don’t turn into a monster when you are upset.” Ironically, this was not what she wanted to hear—she wanted to turn into a monster! This led to her crying and yelling that she wanted to be a monster.

This experience reminded me that you can never be sure how a child will react, even to a thoughtfully chosen comment. Parenting twins has given........

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