Carnage, A Weird Title For a Movie About Parenting

This weekend I saw the movie Carnage.  I originally chose this movie because of the amazing cast - Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly & Christoph Waltz.  The movie turned out to be about two sets of parents that have a meeting after their sons have a dispute in a neighborhood park.  The parents hope to resolve the issue but their behavior quickly spirals out of control.  Is it me, or is "Carnage" a misleading title for the movie?

As a parent, the movie raises interesting questions.  How you would approach this situation?  How would you react if your child struck another?  How would you react if your child was the victim?  Would you call the parent over the phone to discuss?  Would you go as far as invite the parents to your home to discuss the issue?  Would you just leave the issue alone and hope the children would work it out?

Parenting styles are so interesting to me.  What one parent accepts as normal behavior another parent may deem unacceptable.  Where can you find common ground and resolution?  I strongly believe it all boils down to respect.  If we raise our children to have self respect, and be respectful of others, doesn't that ensure these situations wouldn't escalate to a point of children having a physical or verbal altercation?  Being respectful in language used to communicate to each other.  Being respectful not to invade another child's personal space.  Being respectful not to lay your hands on another.  Aren't these fundamental lessons we should be teaching our children?

It's never too early to teach children about respect.  As a parent, we should expect our children to consistently respect us.  It starts when your child is a toddler.  I always expect my children to say "please" or "thank you".  I always expect a nice tone of voice when my children speak to me or another adult.  Do I always hear the please or thank you?  No.  Do my children ever communicate in an unacceptable tone of voice?  Yes.  Is it my job to remind remind them when they are falling short in the respect department?  Absolutely.  As parents, it is important for us to be respectful to our children and others. This might seem obvious but don't children learn from our example?  Shouldn't we teach them to treat others as they would like to be treated?  Shouldn't we teach them to respect their elders?

I guess the title Carnage refers to the way the parents ended up slaughtering each other.  Really tearing into each other's parenting, personal and professional lives.  In the end they come undone yet the children manage to work their issues and the closing scene has them hanging together at the playground. 

What do you think?  Have you ever had to work with another parent to resolve an issue between your children?  Did you have a successful resolution?