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[quote=Anonymous]My dad was like this growing up, especially around the holidays but honestly he had anger problems all year. The holidays would bring up a lot of unpleasant memories of his own childhood, though, so they were much worse times for all of us.

However, my parents did not divorce (though I often wished they would) and now they are through the tunnel we are a happy family again (in our mid-30s now). However, my mom put down some serious ultimatums when I was in HS including him attending therapy, being treated for his depression, and enforcing some house rules for intervening when he'd lose his temper - for instance, if he started getting worked up and she would suggest he go for a run, he was OBLIGED to leave the house (that way we, the kids, would think he was just going out to exercise, regardless of what he actually did). These kinds of barriers really helped him see how much distance he was putting between himself and his family and that was the impetus he needed to seek genuine change and help.

I don't have any other advice to give except it sounds promising that things have been better generally (the holidays are hard for a lot of people, even those without bad tempers) and I'd encourage you to keep at it if he seems to be trying to make changes. Letting your kids know that dad is being unreasonable and shouldn't have shouted at them is important - they need to know you've got their backs when they're treated unfairly (this is one time I don't believe in presenting a united parenting front). [/quote]

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