it's all relative

Mother to older daughter: "I want you to apologize to your sister."
Older daughter: "Okay, okay - sorry - wait, what is this for?"
Mother: "I don't know, there was something going on."

There's nothing like spending time with other families to make the contrast more glaring. Even if we have tense moments, hot issues, and snippy interactions, overall the whole tone of family dynamics is so different. Generally non-punitive, positive, suggesting rather than demanding, asking rather than telling. No name-calling or "you always..." or "you never..." The point I want to make is, even if we're only middling with PonT, we're still treating our children more respectfully and more constructively than a lot of parents out there. It makes me see our positive moments more, and focus on our negative moments less. Love my kids.