Topic: fighting with your children

Welcome to Splitsville. This weekly column will focus on parenting after a divorce, break-up or one-night stand that didn’t end like a Katherine Heigl movie.

Parents and kids fight. It’s never pleasant or pretty. In my personal experience, it’s the most heart-wrenching part of parenting. I hate knowing that I’ve hurt or upset my child. But at the end of the day, it’s my job to be in charge and to be responsible. So, whether I like it or not, I put my foot down and keep a straight face when my three year old tells me, “We’re not best friends anymore, Momma!” To her, this is one of the greatest insults she can bestow.

Those fights are difficult, but luckily I have the time and space to work through them. Her father, on the other hand, doesn’t have that luxury. With their limited time together, what happens when fights don’t get resolved and hurt feelings linger for weeks in between visits? More »