How Fighting Can Affect a Family

how fighting can affect a family

When small disagreements turn into large fights it can have a terrible effect on the entire household. The family counsellor at Ottawa Counselling Services can provide safe and neutral ground where families can overcome their differences. You can also avoid the following dysfunctional effects of family disagreements:

Emotional Difficulties

When going through a difficult and emotional time it is easy to forget that your own issues effect the entire household, including children. The family counsellor at Ottawa Counselling Services can offer you advice that removes the many dysfunctional influences that remain in your relationship. You will learn to focus on finding a productive way to communicate without hurting your children. If you don’t, you can hamper the emotional development of your children.

Children who feel responsible for the conflict between their parents can develop serious emotional issues such as anti-social behaviour. In the case where children feel frightened or threatened by disagreements they are prone to develop emotional issues such as depression. Therefore it is critical that you and your partner learn how to handle conflict so that your troubles do not become an emotional burden for your children.

Hurtful Behaviour

There are many scenarios that can lead to conflict in your home including:

  • • Children acting out
  • • A difficult teen
  • • Parents who are constantly arguing
  • • Stress
  • • Addiction
  • • Violence

It is normal to have conflict in families, however, when those conflicts begin to nurture dysfunctional emotions, unhappiness and even violence; children are put at risk of developing long term emotional problems. When you feel things are out of control in your home you can be certain it is even worse for your children. The family counsellor at Ottawa Counselling Services can work with you and teach your family how to handle disagreements productively without teaching children hurtful behaviour. It will also allow you to learn how to handle conflict without leading to violence or hateful arguments.

Trust and Communication Issues

In the case of sibling rivalry there can be a dysfunctional impact on children learning to trust and communicate effectively. These issues develop when children are not taught about boundaries and personal space. Family counselling can help families learn how to respect each other’s belongings and personal space to nurture stronger, healthier relationships between siblings.