I yelled and spanked my son

Girl.. give yourself some grace. You're a good mom, let alone you were able to recognize everything you just said in your post. You are a GOOD mom, especially by the fact that you feel bad or guilty. I was also abused as a child, and I'll tell you what, my mom did not care one bit. She didn't "feel bad" at all. She was a "my way or the highway" type of person.

Try to be more sympathetic towards yourself. Try not to stress over one bad moment. When your toddler wakes up, just give them an extra long hug. I promise you'll feel better

thank you...I'll definitely give him a huge hug when he wakes up 💛

I think giving him a huge hug is a great idea but I would also take it a step further and talk to him about it. Whether he can understand entirely or not, it’ll give his brain a better opportunity to process what happened. Tell him you had big feelings and you dealt with them in a way that you’re not very proud of. You can even follow up with thinking together about ways to better handle when you’re frustrated and need help regulating. I think it could be the perfect opportunity to model to him what he can do when he’s feeling fussy or gets overwhelmed. (It’s easier said than done but we’re learning and growing alongside our little ones. It’s okay to use your mistakes to become more idealistic on how you want to parent).

I really like this idea, thank you ☺️