View from Another Planet: Learning to Talk to Our Children

View from Another Planet: Learning to Talk to Our Children

Our goal in conscious communication is not to change the other person . . . Our goal is to establish connection.

Andrew LeCompte, author, Creating Harmonious Relationships

A parent of three attended a workshop I gave on managing conflict. A few days after the workshop, she emailed me to say that she’d had an “opportunity” to practice when her 15-year-old daughter came home an hour after the agreed upon time. As my friend put it, “I had an opportunity last night at home…and I blew it!”

A colleague, in talking about conflicts at home, once said Our family really knows how to push our buttons because they installed them. I laughed because it was funny and because it is so true. Its more difficult to deal with family conflicts, because the patterns weve created with each other are so entrenched.

Conflict Does Exist
What happens to you when conflict arises? If your reactions are typical of most of us, you either prepare for a fight or do your best to avoid the situation.

Wed all like to be better at conflict because we sense the...