How do you improve your relationship with your parents? Where to start?

Casandra Greer
It takes approx. 4 minutes to read this article

Family relationships are often a difficult and complicated area. At the same time, they are some of our most basic and important relationships. Many problems cannot be solved with a few simple tips. However, there are certain gestures and attitudes that in most cases can help us improve our relationship with our parents.

Generational differences and the things we have in common

Many family conflicts can arise over generational differences, different approaches to life, and conflicting views. Instead of focusing on these differences, let’s remind ourselves of all that we have in common – our parents have been our inseparable companions for many years of our lives, supporting us and helping us in even the smallest matters.

No matter what the quarrel was about, parents always want the best for us. We need to remember this especially in moments when we disagree. This will help us to approach your parent with understanding instead of hostility, and to explain our differences calmly.

Also, keep in mind that your parents may have had different views at your age than you do now, and those views tend to change somewhat as you get older. With this in mind, it will be easier for us to accept that generational differences are a normal phenomenon and very likely to happen to us and our children as well. Therefore, we should try to put less emphasis on them and put what we have in common in the foreground.

Gratitude

Remind yourself what you owe your parents, how much they have done for you, and that no matter what, they want the best for you . Psychologists advise doing an exercise that can help you remember and bring to the forefront of your relationship with your parents the good things between you

Prepare a piece of paper and divide it in half with a vertical line. On one side, write “Everything positive that I learned from my mom and my relationship with her.” On the other, “Everything positive I have learned from my dad and my relationship with him.” Think about these things and write down on a piece of paper anything that pops up in your memory.

Show that you remember

When starting our own family, it happens to push our parents to the background. It’s a painful time for them, so to let them know that they are still important to us and that their presence means a lot to us, try to visit your parents as often as possible.

Call regularly – we should never forget to ask about their health, show concern and find out if they are okay. This remembrance and gestures that say we care about their well-being mean a great deal to any parent

Patience and respect

If our parents are elderly, they may not be up to date on certain things or understand certain trends or attitudes that are considered normal in our time. Instead of getting irritated and criticizing them, let’s remember our childhood days

When we were young and clumsy, it was our parents who took care of us, took care of us, and surrounded us with unconditional love. Our parents taught us the alphabet, the basics, and tried to help us during our teenage rebellions. Without their care and concern, we simply would not have made it through the first years of our lives. Therefore, now, when it happens to them to ask a question which may seem obvious to us, it is time for us to repay the patience our parents have shown us over the years.

Advice

Parents are always willing to give us advice, sometimes even when we don’t ask for it. This is normal – after all, they used to guide us constantly for many years of our lives. Now that we are a little more different, we should try to calmly explain how we feel about things and why we want something different from what our parent thinks is best. This is better than getting upset and thinking that they want to run our lives.

Despite our differences in opinion, it is worth listening to a parent’s advice, if only to show respect. Besides, a parent’s advice, because of their experience, can sometimes draw our attention to some issues that we may not have thought of. Let’s never ridicule their advice – even when it seems completely out of line with our expectations. This is an extremely painful blow to them. Parents always want our best interests, so they take such demeaning reactions from their child deeply to heart.

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