All too often, one parent complains about having to be the disciplinarian. They feel like they are often the ones saying things like, “stop, no, and not now” all too often while they view their spouse as being too permissive. This eventually wears on a marriage as their roles get established and the kids become keenly aware of who is more likely to give them want they want. The two parents then turn around and start arguing about the way they handled the situation. Accusations of being a pushover or being too strict begin, and the cycle repeats itself every few days. If your marriage is in this place right now or you see it heading down the wrong parenting path, you need to stop it in its tracks. Just like we tell kids, take a time-out. Consider these strategies for a reset on how you and your spouse can break the cycle of this all-too-common parenting fight: At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that partnering to raise your kids together is a challenging, rewarding job. Just as you might approach any other partnership being proactive, keeping the lines of communication open and compromising are some of the keys to ending the fighting around how to handle the common argument of how to discipline your children and protect your marriage. Thinking about becoming a parent? Here’s how meditation prepared one woman for motherhood. The author of Mommy Burnout: How to Reclaim Your Life and Raise Healthier Children in the Process, she is the founder and managing director of the Child and Family Therapy Center, a thriving private practice in Denver where she and her team have helped thousands of families over the past decade. She is a Mental Health Contributor and Expert on CNN, Fox Denver, and 9News and has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Real Simple, NPR and The Today Show.
