Wiping away the silent tears of one's child

When your child is hurting, how you as a parent respond to him or her can mean a lot and impact his or her perspective of life

- Michael Han

As a lawyer, I have to examine documents to see whether they are reliable. I have to test them out with my clients before they appear in court.

Some evidence comes in the form of video footage, like for road traffic accidents, and they can be hard to watch. There is also footage showing parents in a heated argument, escalating into physical exchanges – all carried out before their helpless children.

Several months ago, I stumbled upon some heartbreaking footage, recorded without audio, that stayed with me for some time.

For context, it is about a family on the verge of a break-up. The father had left home, leaving the mother behind to carry the burden by herself.

Weighed down by the stress of work and caregiving, the mother was caught on camera packing her things into a bag. I was told she left the house that day.

But she returned after about an hour. She had never intended to stay away. She just needed to find an outlet for the betrayal she felt when the father suddenly left the family.

More than two years had passed. Although he visited the children on various occasions, the couple remained separated.