Healthy approaches to conflict

Using a video series of children’s reflections on their own fallouts, the campaign introduced the idea of modelling behaviours and explored the children’s experiences of conflict in their own homes – holding up a mirror to parents who may see their own unhealthy patterns reflected back.

The campaign aimed to ‘nudge’ parents into addressing their own behaviours and taking action by joining the online pathway, Understanding your relationships. The pathway normalises disagreement and conflict within relationships and families, whilst encouraging healthy strategies to fall out, make up – or agree to disagree, healthily.

Parental conflict is known to have an impact on children’s mental health, with abuse and household dysfunction recognised as an indicator of higher mental health risk. Whilst there is targeted support for more acute issues such as domestic abuse, there is growing recognition for the importance of early, universal support in helping prevention; supporting all parents to understand emotional health and relationships, and increasing awareness about processing emotions.