Facing relationship difficulties? Always seem to be arguing with your partner? Want help and support but don’t know how to get it or where to go?
Disagreements are a normal part of life, and most couples argue from time to time. The way you approach these conversations can make a big difference to you, your partner, and your children.
Knowsley is promoting FREE online courses and information to parents who are struggling in their relationships.
See it Differently, OnePlusOne and RelationKit provide online courses as well as videos, mindfulness sessions and downloadable cards to help with some common issues parents face such as struggling to communicate with their partner, becoming parents for the first time and experiencing difficulties in raising their baby together, parenting together, and parenting through and after a break-up.
All parents in Knowsley (regardless of if they are together, separated or considering separation) can access these FREE resources to support them to find helpful ways to communicate and improve their relationship.
What is parental conflict?
It is normal for two parents to have different ideas, opinions, values, and priorities. Part of being successful in a relationship with another person is being able to use appropriate communication skills, so differences of opinion can be worked out using healthy conflict resolution strategies.
Conflict and arguments happen in every relationship. However, when conflict between parents, whether together or separated, becomes frequent, intense or poorly resolved it can have a negative impact on the children within the family. It is known to cause emotional distress and behaviour problems during infancy and childhood and impact on children’s life chances.
If harmful conflict is identified and supported earlier, it will lead to better outcomes for the whole family.
What resources are available?
See it Differently, One Plus One and RelationKit are FREE online resources and interventions to help support families in their relationships as parents.
The resources provide a range of activities and resources that parents can access in the privacy of their own home, including videos, mindfulness sessions and downloadable cards. Subjects include struggling to communicate with a partner, raising children together and parenting after a break-up.
See it Differently
If you recognise that you might need some support in understanding the impact of conflict or what parental conflict looks like, visit See It Differently. Here you will find a number of videos, along with advice and strategies, that could help you and partner.
One Plus One
There are four online courses that you can access if you are experiencing conflict and feel like you need further support. These courses can be accessed privately and are free to use.
- Me, You and Baby Too - Prepare parents for changes to their relationship, support them to develop skills to manage conflict constructively and help expectant and new parents cope with changes in their relationship.
- Arguing better - Increase parents’ capacity to cope with stress, support parents to develop positive communication strategies to deal with conflict and raise awareness of the impact that parental conflict can have on children.
- Getting it Right for Children - Raise parents’ awareness and understanding of how they are putting their child in the middle of their conflict, help parents to develop positive communication skills and support parents to co-operate and work out solutions together.
- Debt and relationships - Debt and money troubles are one of the biggest causes of relationship stress, and the rising cost of living could mean this becomes a greater issue for many families. Helping parents to consider different ways they might find themselves in debt, the impact this can have on relationships and why it’s a good idea to talk to one another.
To access these resources you need to register online for free.
To register you will need to select the ‘Northern England’ map, then select ‘Knowsley’ and follow the instructions to create an account.
Register for One Plus One online resources.
RelationKit
RelationKit is a free online resource that gives parents and carers support with their relationship.
Parents and carers can access videos, mindfulness sessions and downloadable cards to help with some common things, like struggling to communicate with your partner, raising children together and parenting after a break-up.
RelationKit and One Plus One courses can be accessed on a mobile phone, tablet or laptop in your own time and whenever is most convenient for you.
Please note that these tools have not been developed for parents experiencing domestic abuse.