Don't Lose Sight of the Big Picture!

Many times, while my children were growing up, I found myself getting upset, angry, and frustrated with one thing or another. Instead of enjoying the relationship to the fullest, I often worried about grades, messy rooms, unusual hair styles, boyfriends, girlfriends, the future, the past, etc. Today, I can't even remember the reasons for many of our arguments and disagreement, and most of the things I worried about never happened.

In the midst of life's minor annoyances, it's easy to lose sight of what really matters. We can all too easily miss the forest for the trees. When you find your relationship with your children becoming strained over things that won't matter a few months from now, take a step back and ask yourself these questions?

• Is this worth putting a strain on our relationship?
• Will I even care about this in a few weeks?
• What am I really upset about?
• How can I handle this in a way that keeps the relationship in tact?
• How would I have liked my own parents to have dealt with this issue?
• What is the lesson I want to teach my son/daughter about handling conflicts?

Copyright © 2008 by Holly A. Cox, L.C.P.C., C.D.C.®