The Day My Daddy Lost His Temper
Welcome back to Bibliotherapy Thursday and the last day of our series in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. To close us out, this week we’re highlighting the hidden victims of domestic violence. The Day My Daddy Lost His Temper by Dr. Carol S. McCleary is a compassionate and validating picture book that offers an approachable way for children to begin to sort through their emotions after witnessing domestic violence.
The Day My Daddy Lost His Temper features a girl named Laura who lived with her mom, dad, and little brother. She loves her family very much, and explains that they sometimes have a lot of fun together. But other times, her dad can get very angry and act in a way that scares her. During one of these angry times, she hears her parents fighting and her dad storm out. She finds her mom lying on the floor and calls 911. She and her brother stay with their grandmother while her mom is in the hospital, and they are reunited once she recovers. Laura talks about how her family sees “feelings doctors” who help them learn how to talk about their experience and what they can do to feel better when they have big emotions like sadness and anger. Laura finishes by telling us the most important thing she learned: “What happened was not my fault!”
What makes this such a wonderful book is how Laura’s feelings about the situation are woven into the narrative. Children who witness domestic violence can experience a host of emotions that can be difficult to sort through on their own. By sharing how Laura feels during each part of the story — her confusion about the two different sides of her father, her worry about her mom, her guilt about not being able to protect her — the author validates children’s emotions and helps lift them from the isolation of an abusive situation. I also really love that the author never paints the father as an evil figure, but acknowledges the good times Laura had with him and the love she has for her dad. Laura learns that you can love someone but not like what they do, and that all feelings are okay but all behaviors are not. These are vitally important distinctions to make in order for children to begin to heal from the trauma of domestic violence, engage in positive and healthy self-talk, and have loving, kind relationships in the future.
You can find The Day My Daddy Lost His Temper in print at Amazon.
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