"Parental conflict" refers to disagreements, arguments, or tension between parents or caregivers. It means that the adults responsible for taking care of a child are having difficulties or conflicts with each other, which can impact the well-being and happiness of the child.
Full definition
Parental separation often initially leads to an increase
in parental conflict and anger, although for some families the level of conflict reduces when parents do not see each other regularly.
Research on the impact of separation on children has shown that
ongoing parental conflict can result in negative psychological consequences for children.
Researchers have consistently found that high levels of
parental conflict during and after a divorce are associated with poorer adjustment in children.
It is not the presence of
parental conflict as much as children's direct exposure to that conflict which is harmful to them.
Since studies indicate how
damaging parental conflict is to kids, the thought of raising children in a conflict - free house sounds more than intriguing — it actually sounds preferable.
Parental conflict doesn't mean divorce (as so many children today fear), it means parents are working to architect a marriage that can accept the human differences between them.
If parental conflict is not treated, children may develop serious psychological difficulties that will continue into adulthood.
Children are even more damaged
when parental conflict involves their father's abuse of their mothers... They may be hurt physically while trying to protect their mother.
This article discusses how current research has challenged some of the child development and
parental conflict theories upon which family law legislation, standards and guidelines for parental access and conflict are based.
This hybrid role combines training from social sciences, child development, mediation, parent education, family law, family systems, and many other fields to address and
resolve parental conflict.
Indeed his paper examining whether prior
parental conflict caused both relocation and harm shows how important causal ambiguity can be.
It eliminates the opportunity for face - to -
face parental conflict by minimizing transitions, and allows both parents and mature children to «settle» into a routine.
If your children are witnessing and living with
continuous parental conflict, then there is a pretty good chance that this situation might be affecting them in various ways.
Family conflict,
especially parental conflict, whether during the marriage, during the divorce and especially continuing after the divorce, destroys our children.
How a family
handles parental conflict and how the children turn out depends on the family's circumstances, on relationships, on the children's personalities.
Research shows that when there is
less parental conflict during and after the divorce, children adjust more easily and are more likely to meet their potential as they reach adulthood.
Children and teenagers don't have any control over divorce and girls are more negatively impacted by
parental conflict before and after divorce due to their brain development and socialization.
This is backed up by good solid research studies —
ongoing parental conflict is detrimental to the children's emotional and intellectual development.
For example, children and adolescents who are coping
with parental conflict, divorce, or who have witnessed domestic violence, can benefit from play therapy.
The overall emphasis is to offer children the opportunity to grow in a home environment free from the devastating stress of being caught in the middle
of parental conflict.
If parental conflict is not treated, children may develop serious psychological difficulties that will continue into adulthood.
Again, the school or daycare pick ups and drop offs limit further, the opportunity for face - to -
face parental conflict.
Since studies indicate how
damaging parental conflict is to kids, the thought of raising children in a conflict - free house sounds more than intriguing — it actually sounds preferable.
My findings support Amato's perspective that an increase in
parental conflict after divorce is a stressor for children into adulthood.
«We now have the startling reversal that shared parenting after parental separation or divorce is the most effective means for reducing
high parental conflict, and that it decreases the subsequent onset of first - time family violence,» National Parents Organization's Founder and Board Chairman Ned Holstein, as per the press release posted by MartketWired.
There were modest increases in
parental conflict over child - rearing decisions, and some mothers restricted the fathers» access to their children.
Family Life Bridge developed One Bridge to Peace workshops in response to
continued parental conflict even after attending court - ordered «co-parenting» classes.