"When she trash-talks her kids' dad in front of them and throws darts at a photo of him, she's not hurting her ex at all, but she's deeply harming her kids. Kids think of themselves as half mom and half dad. When your sister criticizes her kids' dad in front of them, they feel like she's also criticizing them. She may as well be throwing darts at a photo of her children's lovely faces!"
"Tell your sister she needs to stop with the trash-talking and dart-throwing. In the meantime, continue to be a good aunt to those kids. Good luck."
"My sister "Madison" got divorced three months ago. She and my former brother-in-law have two kids who are 3 and 5. Maybe I'm making more of this than it really is, but she has a 24" x 18" picture of her ex in the family room and has been using it as a dart board. The kids see her do it (she even did it when I was there recently and called him every curse word in the book the whole time) along with the unflattering details Madison has drawn on it."
"Yesterday my niece asked me why her mom hates her dad so much. Should I try speaking to my sister about how her little method of venting her anger is affecting her daughter, or is this something I need to stay out of?"
A parent uses a photo of an ex as a dart board and insults the ex in front of children. The children witness the behavior and develop confusion and negative feelings about their father. The advice says the behavior does not affect the ex but does harm the children. Children see themselves as connected to both parents, so criticism of one parent feels like criticism of them. The parent is urged to stop trash-talking and dart-throwing. The advice also recommends staying a supportive presence as an aunt or relative while encouraging healthier ways to handle anger.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]