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Parental Alienation: 6 Signs It’s Happening to You
Many couples in the midst of an acrimonious divorce toss around the term, parental alienation, to describe the effects of one parent badmouthing another. This often happens when one person seems particularly at fault in a divorce. I think everyone can agree that criticizing one parent to a child is unhealthy at best and abusive at worst. But this isn’t parental alienation. I recently heard about a four-year-old boy whose mother had left him and his father unexpectedly. Understandably both were devastated. Understandably the father felt a need to process this. He would launch into his rehearsal of the sudden separation and divorce and almost as if on cue, his…
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How to Model Emotional Intimacy for Your Children
Emotional intimacy is a term usually reserved for couples. In reality, emotional intimacy is a skill that we learn by observing our parents and by practicing with close friends as we mature. Many parents are careful to withhold any conflicts or even affection from each other in front of their kids. I suppose the reasoning is that somehow children should be insulated from the adult world, free from its worries and problems. To some extent, I agree. After all, children should not be asked to carry the heavy baggage of adulthood. The baggage of childhood is heavy enough. I never understood why we romanticize childhood. It has its own agonies.…
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Seven Signs of a Narcissistic Mother
My heart always nosedives when I meet the victim of a narcissistic mother. They are usually some of the nicest people you will ever meet, though it may be difficult to get to know them. When they come for prayer ministry, it isn’t the presence of bad memories making it difficult for them to heal. While bad memories are plentiful, the lack of good memories is actually more of a barrier. And while abusive fathers are bad enough, a narcissistic mother in some ways is far worse. Mothers are crucial to the development of the internal self of a baby. A child whose mother is incapable of meeting basic emotional…
Healing Through Art & Words
