Parenting comes with joys, challenges, and responsibilities. It can be a tough job, and some situations can lead to conflict between parents, ranging from minor disputes, criticism, aggression, or intense arguments.
While disagreements are natural in any relationship, ongoing and unresolved conflict within the family can have a negative effect on children. According to one study, babies as young as six months old experience symptoms of distress, like an elevated heart rate, in response to overt, hostile exchanges between their parents.
Hollie Wilson, who is co-ordinating Central Bedfordshire Council’s approach to reducing parental conflict, explains: “Children can sense tension and hostility between their parents, and witnessing consistent conflict can lead to anxiety, stress, and emotional distress. Children also model their own behaviour after their parents, so continuous conflict in the family might negatively impact their own approach to handling disagreements and future relationships.”
There is a new e-learning module available to those based in Central Bedfordshire and Luton who’d like to learn more about parental conflict – whether you work/ volunteer with families and would like to learn more to better support them, or whether you are facing issues within your own family unit.
The course will introduce the learner to parental conflict, the impact it has on children, how arguments work and how improved communication between parents can improve outcomes for their children.
To find out more about the work we’re doing to reduce parental conflict, email hollie.wilson@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.
To access free e-learning visit Safeguarding Bedfordshire. You will need to create a free account if you do not already have one.