This is so important

This is so important. Children absolutely need to see how their parents handle conflict, not just that it happens, but how it is resolved. If conflict is always hidden or avoided, they never learn how to navigate it in their own relationships.

If you are never in conflict, you are likely avoiding the real issues or suppressing disagreement. Men and women are different, and that difference alone is enough to create tension from time to time, let alone all the other ways we differ as individuals.

In our home, I will sometimes take one of the children aside after a disagreement with their mother and explain what happened, how we worked it out, and why we handled it the way we did. My wife does the same. We do not do this to get the child on our side, but to teach them. We even share where we made mistakes and how they might do better when it is their turn to build a family.

Healthy conflict is not just normal, it is essential. And modeling resolution is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children.