The mother’s assertion below that the children’s trauma is “small” really bothers me. I know she says “grand scheme” but the tone is just so glib and barely-concerned that she obviously doesn’t care that much.

I don’t think most parents are very good ones. The majority wish to exert authoritarian control over their charges. Inside, she’s probably reveling in this devastation. That’s why she can barely muster up the heart to even appear a little sad about it all.

The reality is that kids do not have to be tortured this way; it’s a choice made freely. Crises reveal people’s true colors, and in most those hues are not very pleasant to behold.