JORAS - Nigerian Journal of Religion and Society

When parents do not communicate respectfully with each other and do not have a good strategy for resolving conflicts, the result is damaging on the family. Parental conflict has a demoralising effect on children. It is a significant obstacle to their developmental and behavioural adjustments and may lead to permanent damaging effects on children's well-being. Thus, the crux of this paper is on parental conflict and its effects on children's well-being. It employed conceptual method to review the literature concerning parental conflicts and their effects on children. The present article found out that children are affected by mere exposure to parental conflict. This means that exposure to the parental conflict has a significant impact on children's emotional, behavioural, interpersonal, and even their physiological wellbeing. Thus, the article emphasised the value of effective family communication as an antidote to the effects of parental conflicts on the children, as well as on the import of intervening with parents in the conflict to increase their awareness on the disastrous results of their behaviours on their children. Therefore, effective family communication skills, such as active listening, keeping the focus on a single issue and preventing personal attacks, among others were recommended for successfully resolving conflict among couples and family members.

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