A Watsonia mother on her annual summer holiday has felt the eyes of at least a dozen people on her as she loudly disciplined her son in the caravan park her family was staying at. Danielle Bowman was asking her five-year-old son, for the fourth time, to put his shoes on, and quite simply had had enough.

Whilst she felt she had remained relatively calm, Bowman immediately felt the eyes of multiple adults on her, some casting judgement on her approach, with others expressing genuine empathy in their knowing glances. Bowman’s son did eventually return to the family caravan, put his shoes on, then got on with his life.

Speaking exclusively to The Watsonia Bugle, Bowman said, “There’s just no secrets in a caravan park is there? But I guess that’s the beauty of it in many ways. I’m certainly not the only parent in the park to have yelled at their kids this week. And it’s kind of comforting to know that other parents are dealing with the same infuriating challenges that I face every day.”

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