It arrives on an ordinary evening, over nothing in particular. "I hate you, Mama." Or: "Go away, Daddy." There is no obvious reason. Five minutes ago the child was laughing in your lap.
You know, intellectually, that this is a child talking. Still — something in the center of your chest goes cold. Hours later, that single sentence is the one thing you can still hear.
This article is written for the parent on the night that happens. Not about how to raise the child, but about how to treat yourself after being spoken to that way.