Family Conflicts - How to handle it?

Family conflicts are as varied as the people involved in them. The turmoil can result from a workaholic husband whose wife feels lonely and resentful toward him and the job that takes him away from her, or children who are a source of continual family conflict and aggravation due to the parent’s lack of consistent parenting skills, or blended families in which an unaccepted step parent or interfering in-laws are the sources of family conflict. In other homes, couples and families are torn apart by verbal, emotional, or physical abuse.

Whether only you are searching for solutions to family conflict, or whether your spouse or other family members also want harmony, there are actions you can take immediately to begin changing your own behavior, and your response to the behavior of your spouse and family.

Creating Harmony In Your Home

* Train yourself to believe the best about your spouse and family. Rather than assuming your husband forgot somethingjust to annoy you, remind yourself how hard he worked today, what a good provider he is, and that he probably just forgot.


* Count your blessings. Instead of grumbling to yourself about what you lack, remind yourself and be thankful for all you have.


* Be helpful, comforting, encouraging, and pleasant around your family. If you practice being helpful, offering comfort, giving a word of encouragement, and being courteous and upbeat, you will likely find that your family will begin responding with the same kind of behavior toward you, and each other.


* Be willing to admit it when you are wrong and be willing to apologize. Not only will you mend a rift in your relationship, you will set an example for your spouse, children, and family.

Aggressive Steps Toward Breaking the Cycle

If your situation is one of repetitive, severely escalating family conflicts, then you or your spouse may need to explore techniques of anger management or, if children are the cause of the family conflict, learn about anger management for parents. family counseling is an option when you all desire to work as a team to resolve your problems, and if marriage conflict is the difficulty, marriage counseling may be the key to restoration and a rekindling of your love for each other.

Since wisdom from God is the greatest foundation on which we can build lives of love and peace, let’s turn to the Common Sense to unlock the heart of family conflict:

How Can Common Sense Help You?

Another principle for conflict resolution is to remove the word “but” from your vocabulary. When you say it, you cancel out everything before the “but.” You also cancel an apology on your part when you state a reason after the “but” for doing whatever you did. For example: “I’m sorry for yelling but if you weren’t so aggravating I wouldn’t have to yell.” In this instance, the key is to apologize for your own behavior, rather than coupling your apology and crippling it with an accusation.