To the OP,

Was the officer a young guy, white, in his late 20's with a short blonde hair.

If so, he is the worst US CBP agent at YYC. I have dealt with him only once, but a few coworkers have come to this guys desk, all had bad experiences including one person who was an exCBSA (Canadian Border) agent. His questions are outlandish and not well thought out. My guess is that he gets bored and turns off the outside voice filter, saying anything that comes to his mind.

Can you elaborate on how the CBP agent got between questions 1 and 2? How did the conversation turn towards your kids is very unusual.

And in answer to your original question, I have a massive reduction in USA travel this year for two reasons:
1. The afore mentioned carryon plus the physical search that occured earlier this year was the breaking point for me. One trip cancelled to see my wife's parents swowbirding in PHX. One annual spring excursion to LAS was transferred to YUL to avoid the security situation.
2. Birth of my daughter forced me to re-evaluate my job and transfer employers such that my travel patterns are Western Canada and YYZ where the previous employer was North America. Gone from my schedule are six weeks in DEN, FAT, and DFW.