Essay On Conflict Between Parents

Children not only learn from what they do, but they also learn from what they see their parents doing. Realizing this can be important because many parents express their conflicts and disagreements in front of their children. Consider the following before you disagree, argue or start a conflict in front of your children.

Children who are fortunate enough to have two parents will need and love both parents. The emotional bonds formed between parents and children cause children to notice and adopt the values, attitudes and behaviour of their parents. Children trust, imitate and try to pay attention to the people they bond with. But unlike adults, children tend to absorb the perspective of both parents directly. They do so with little hesitation and without experience.

Younger children are more likely than older children to "take in" the perspectives of both parents. When parents express their conflicts, the psychological impact on children can produce uncertainty, emotional instability, erratic thinking and hyperactivity. While many children are not affected by mild disagreements, some children are more sensitive and prone to act on the basis of confused feelings. How do children cope with conflicted parental views of what is right or wrong? The answer is, "They don’t do it very well."

It's so tempting sometimes to just plop them both down in front of a movie so I can focus. Sometimes when I have calls to make or work that requires a lot of focus, I will let my older daughter watch a short movie, but I'm really trying to keep my youngest away from the screens until she's older. I will say, from a parent's perspective, that although a movie or computer game may be more convenient and easy in the short term, it often makes the rest of the day a lot more difficult. Just like kids come down from a sugar high, they also come down from a screen high, and it's not always