Empty Threat? Not In This Case Recently, I heard a story in the news and was pretty torn. It was story of how a mother in New York ordered her bickering 10 and 12 year old girls out of the car and drove away. Here's the story in case you missed it. Apparently, Madlyn Primoff left her girls on the side of the road, returned some time later and reported them missing when they weren't where she left them. A Good Samaritan had seen the girls on the side of the road and brought them to the police station. Madlyn has been charged with a crime and isn't able to see her daughters anymore. I'm torn because this case definitely isn't black and white for me. I mean, who didn't hear the threat of "If you don't stop fighting, I'll pull this car over and..." But, c'mon -- we all knew it was an empty threat. But, who hasn't gotten so annoyed and worn down by their kid that they're tempted to leave them on the side of the road and drive away. Of course, there's no way I could actually DO it, but I'd sure as hell be tempted. And the kids aren't little -- they're 10 and 12. Definitely old enough to understand punishment and consequence. I think this just brings to light a larger issue that parenting is HARD. It's frustrating and thankless and will make you question nearly every decision. But, thankfully, for me, is 100%