Is Nitpicking Your Third Wheel in Co-parenting?

When you are stuck in the daily meltdown cycle and your spouse or co parent is nitpicking, walking on eggshells can feel like an understatement.

Not only are you trying not to set up the bomb of your kiddo’s meltdown of the day (or hour) but then you are having to deal with withholding your eyebrow twitches when your spouse calls your kid out on something you would deem unnecessary.

Talk about Chinese water torture!

So now you’re holding it in trying to help your kid stay calm, AND holding it in trying not to tell your spouse to cut it out… and you’re lucky if all you do is engage in dagger-like side eye…

Which we know only fuels all of the fires…

Yours because you’re stifling your voice…

Your spouse’s because they feel they have a right to parent and teach your child without your permission…

And your kid’s because they feel the tension… and are already irritable!

If this is your everyday experience you might have tried a few things to break out of this pattern:

You try giving your spouse direct feedback in the moment…

But you know that doesn’t work because then you’re undermining your partner’s parenting authority. 

Maybe then you try just ignoring it…

But that means you have to deal with the fallout of being your child’s emotional janitor when dad’s comments are the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Or, you try to run through what could have gone better at the end of the day… which probably ends one of two ways:

Your spouse feels defeated and it turns into a criticism feedback loop.

You don’t actually get to connect at the end of the day because you’re both exhausted trying not to repeat history, but uncertain how to get off the hamster wheel.

Feeling drained yet? 

Let’s talk about what is liberating.

When you and your spouse are on the same page: that you both want the best for your child, and know exactly how to raise your HSC so they don’t grow up to be a millennial in your basement at best, and a drowning, emotionally reactive risk taker at worst.

You both know how to give your child specific and direct feedback on their behavior, and WHEN to do that so that your sensitive kiddo doesn’t melt into a puddle or scream at you that they don’t want to talk about it, but proudly contributes to coming up with creative ideas to solve their own problems. 

Your family plays on a daily basis– you connect through love and enjoyment rather than eye rolls and sighs.

And all of that can happen AS you eliminate the daily meltdown cycle… not around the chaos in pockets you have to hunt for.

Sounds too good to be true? Might be. Because I don’t know if we can help your family until you speak to us on the phone. 

Book your call today to see if we’re a fit to support you, and if we’re not, we’ll point you in the exact best direction to address your particular family’s problem. 

Beginning your family’s culture of achieving win-wins– starting at the click of a button. 

Book a call with my team today: https://www.megghanthompsoncoaching.com/talk

For families with high school aged teens: https://www.megghanthompsoncoaching.com/teentalk