No two people can agree on everything.
Not even, or especially not, how to raise a kid to be a functional member of society.
Hes authoritarian, Im laid back.
Hes less willing to let things slide, Im more prone to be a slacker.
At the beginning, we fought.
Sometimes it was intense, as those early days so often are.
- Now I think we make a pretty good team, but its a process that always takes work.
How Selectively Looking the Other Way Can Decrease Behavioral Problems and Increase Parenting Satisfaction.
Be flexible where you might.
Sometimes, identifying so strongly with these labels can make it more difficult to compromise.
Conversely, he felt my approach was way over-the-top and exhausting for both of us.
When parents have different parenting styles, for the most part, thats no problem, Pearlman says.
As long as they agree on a few non-negotiable rules and the consequences, it can work just fine.
One can be strict and the other carefree.
One can be silly and the other serious.
It can be great to have that kind of diversity in the household.
However, Pearlman says that differences of opinion widen when things get heated.
When parents are not on the same page, kids learn to work the system.
They pit one parent against the other for their own benefit.
By knowing what the other parent values, it will be easier to find a middle ground.
Writer Lauren Wellbank told me that breastfeeding was a hot-button issue in her family.
My husband kept asking me when I planned to stop nursing, she says.
My first goal was six months and then when I hit that, it was a year.
Wellbank and her husband had many conversations about the topic to figure out what was really bothering him.
Find places where each partner can ease up to accommodate the others wishes.
Maybe decide that yo and thank you will do.
Perhaps you’re free to limit the major chores to Sunday afternoons.
Making small concessions now will make compromising on the big things easier.
