Holiday Family Conflict

Holiday Family Conflict…

Are you anticipating a clash with family members on the holidays because of a difference in values related to parenting? If so, the best strategy is parents to avoid holiday family conflict navigate them well beforehand. Generating a conversation ahead of time with the other adults in your family to discuss areas of potential conflict can help you achieve a peaceful holiday. There’s usually a middle ground, you just have to find it.  What will the rules and expectations be when different parenting styles lead to tension?  Come up with a compromise! 

… As An Opportunity!

Also, there’s an added benefit of being proactive: addressing this kind of conflict with other family members is an opportunity for you to model good conflict resolution to your kids.  It can be a source of anxiety, or a chance to heal, and we’ll talk about it in this Tips on Teens video.

“I’ll be getting together with our extended family on Christmas for the first time in two years and I’ve got some anxiety. We let our kids eat all the sugar they want on the holidays, we’re kind of lax about screens and we don’t mind if they’re loud and act like kids at big gatherings. My brother and his wife have a very different parenting style and they don’t mind voicing their disapproval. Sometimes they even say stuff within earshot of my kids. It really irks me. I don’t know how to respond to them in the situation. I don’t want my kids to feel shamed and also I don’t really know how to explain it to them. Any advice for me?”