Unresolved Conflicts Only Hurt Your Child

"Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice." (Proverbs 13:10)

The unfolded story of Kayla Reed is very disturbing. The 15-year-old left her house after midnight. Mom reported to the police 2 days later. Police treated it as a runaway case because "Kayla was mad at her Mom." When Kayla did not contact family or friends for a while, she was declared a missing person. Friends said they knew Kayla had an unhappy home life. Neighbors said they often heard yelling and fighting and someone even had called police before.

On one website, a "co-worker of dad" wrote that dad heard of Kayla's missing from the radio, not mom, not police. On another site, "grandma (dad's mom)" was angry that the police did not look for dad on her mom's words that she couldn't find him. "Grandma" defended dad as paying monthly support and even had a meeting scheduled in February on child support issues.

Whatever the truth really is, I feel deep sorrow when I think about Kayla. How many people in her life realized that the girl with such a beautiful smile might be mad, sad, lonely and afraid inside?

I wish all parents remember this: Even in cases where separation and divorce are involved, children still need to have the love and guidance from both parents. Do not abandon your responsibility and do not fight your partners without thinking about what is best for your children. Better yet, would you two resolve your conflicts before it was too late?

Copyright © 2006 Winnis Chiang, Parenting ABC