Passive Aggressive Parents
In psychological terms a Passive Aggressive behavior means to be hostile and hurtful towards others without getting involved in direct confrontation with them. Passive aggressive parents always look for an opportunity to create conflicts. For children it becomes an unfathomable affair beyond the limit of reason regarding their parents ‘Catty’ behavior. In the end the children get frustrated and are driven away from their parents. Here are eight tips on how to deal with passive aggressive parents.
1. Help Them Open Up
When parents refrain from communicating or always avoid each other, it many a times suggest there is a trouble in the paradise often leading to passive aggressive behavior. Thus, you must help your parents open up in front of each other and address the grievances they bear towards each other.
2. Avoiding the Blaming
Passive aggressive parents tend to blame one another for not carrying out responsibilities bestowed upon them. One must take this as an alarming situation and must take appropriate actions suggesting ways to avoid such situations amidst parents.
3. Address the Issue, POLITELY!
Children often become rebellious towards the passive aggressive behavior displayed by parents. It must be noted that the solution to dealing with them is not by being outright reactive rather by being more responsive and understanding.
4. Don’t Tolerate
The suffering of children and their inability to approach their parents regarding the clear signs of passive aggressive behavior encourages it even more. Hence, the most vital step is to be intolerable of it and raise your voice against it in a subtle manner.
5. Tit-for-Tat
Passive aggressive parents often try to get back at each other in ways one cannot comprehend. During such phase it becomes necessary to enforce some discipline in the house thereby restricting them to prolong their feud.
6. Help Them Accept
Passive aggressive parents often stand firm on what they think about each other being true irrespective of whether it is the case or not. Thus, you must play the role of a judge hear helping them distinguish the right from the wrong and accept both the positive and negative sides of each other.
7. Set Limits
If you are planning not be dragged into the ongoing fight then you must clearly state your stand and play the neutral way. Ignoring the actions of parents can help you prevent from being the victim. Many a times this display of behavior sets the parents back to normal.
8. Criticize Less Appreciate More
Criticism is the last way you want to go when dealing with passive aggressive parents. However, care must be taken that it is shrouded in the cloak of appreciation. Appreciate the past actions and highlight the criticism for their current actions.
Dealing with parents showing extreme traits of passive aggressive behavior is a serious issue and can cause more trouble than relief if not undertaken properly. However, not dealing with it also has some severe consequences not only for a child but for the parents also. So it still calls for trying to mend the broken bonds.
Though care must be taken to let it not affect and change you in ways unwanted by your parents and you.
