Are Parenting Disagreements Ruining Your Marriage?
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Marriage is tough to navigate as you try to figure our how to communicate best with your partner and enjoy life. Add in little ones that you have to work together to raise and it becomes very tricky to navigate. The way you treat each other and communicate about parenting can either have a positive or a negative effect on your relationship with each other.
Negative effects:
You do your children no good when you and your partner basically cancel each other out by picking opposing parenting styles. One parent sets a strict tone and the other one sneaks privileges to the child. The end result is stressed out spouses, a dysfunctional family, and children that receive mixed messages.
There is nothing worse than two parents arguing about parenting issues in front of their children. You are giving your child a clear message that no one is in charge. The end result will be children who play you and your partner against one another and that is a disaster for the kids and for your relationship.
Positive effects:
Be patient with each other, practice the same team mentality, and present a united front with the kids. The most important thing is to honor and respect each other and work out your solutions as a team.
Three ways to get a positive parenting effect.
- What are your must-haves?
Make a list of your must-haves for parenting and have your spouse make a list of his must-haves. Compare your list. A must-have list might look something like this:
-Kids must talk respectfully
-Kids must help out with house and yard chores
-Kids must complete homework before play
-Kids must have a regular bedtime
Compare your must-have list with your partner’s and see if you can compromise and agree to each other’s must-haves. Try to be open and flexible. Make a master list of must-haves that you will both agree to.
- Discipline Consistently
When children break the rules, you need to have consequences that have already been determined ahead of time. Some instances of breaking the rules may merit talking to the child about what they did wrong and what they should have done and putting the child in time out. Other instances may warrant a privilege being taken away, grounding, or a swat on the backside. Whatever type of discipline you both agree on, it should be decided before hand and handed out consistently for each type of infraction.
- Always back each other up.
Agree to back each other up when you are in front of the children. Whichever parent gave the first response to the request is the parent that leads that situation.
“Did you already ask Mommy about that? What did Mommy say?” (same goes for Daddy)
If you don’t agree with the way your spouse handled a particular parenting situation, wait until you are in private to discuss your concerns. Talk to each other calmly and respectfully. Focus on the specific instance, how you felt about it and what might have been a better way to handle it.
Couples, who make a habit out of talking everything through, create much more space for mutual compassion, respect, and a loving relationship. Your kids benefit as well, because they know you are both parenting as a team.
Learn more about our Couples Therapy Exercises