Paul and Mary have been married for 20 years. They have started fighting a lot. Paul comes to you for help. He knows that all marriages experience conflict now and again

However, he is starting to wonder how his fighting with his wife is affecting his children. What would you tell him? How does chronic conflict affect children? What suggestions would you give Paul for helping his children handle conflict?
What will be an ideal response?

A good answer will be similar to the following:
When parents are constantly in conflict, children and adolescents often become anxious, withdrawn, and aggressive.
- Seeing parents fight jeopardizes a child's feeling that the family is stable and secure making a child feel anxious, frightened, and sad.
- Chronic conflict between parents spills over into the parent-child relationship.
- When parents invest time and energy fighting with each other, they're often too tired or too preoccupied to invent themselves in high-quality parenting.
When families resolve disagreements constructively, their children respond positively to conflict. It shows that their family is cohesive and able to withstand life's problems. Here are the suggestions:
- Form an effective parental team — work in a coordinated and complementary way toward goals you share for your children's development. Don't "go it alone." Lack of teamwork, competition, and gatekeeping can lead to problems, causing children to become withdrawn.