What Happens When Parents Argue?
Most of the time, parents can disagree with each other and still manage to talk about it calmly. Other times, parents disagree strongly and they argue. Someone has called arguments “fights using words.” The old saying “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” simply is not true. Words can hurt. When parents argue, it’s normal for teens to worry. When parents yell, young people feel afraid, sad, and upset. Sometimes arguments use silence — when parents are angry at each other, and don’t talk to each other at all. And silent arguing can be just as upsetting as loud arguing. Sometimes the argument is about the children. This might cause teens to feel like they are to blame. But parents’ behavior is never the teen’s fault.
