Dear Amy: I am a dad with two children, ages 11 and 8. Three months ago, we were at my mother and stepfather’s house for a family cookout. My 8-year-old son was throwing “pops” on the ground (you know — those firecracker things that pop on cement). Well, apparently, my stepfather became angry and lunged at my son, picking him up by the throat, screaming in his face, and throwing him onto the ground. This happened in the front yard, and all of the other adults were in the backyard.