Every single dad or mom I know has made mistakes. It's part of the journey, but there's a big difference between making a mistake every now and then or living in a dysfunctional pattern of behavior.

And today we're going to discuss how to break free from what some would call a toxic paradigm

as a parent.

I'm John Fuller joined by Dr. Danny Werta, he's vice president of

parenting here at Focus on the Family and Danny as we kick off here today what are some

of the most I guess common or the more prevalent unhealthy patterns you see in families as you counsel with parents and kids?

There are so many different types of ways that we can get off track as families and one of them is the

avoidance of conflict. Silent treatments are taken on right so a person is wrong and then they pretend as though nothing happened and there isn't a repair

taking place and things are accumulating.

Another one is just being too busy to be with one another

and to even address things that are happening,

shifts in the home.

And sometimes it's a big one is the families pursuing happiness over growth.

They're pursuing, hey I want you just to be happy. I want you, I'm getting you this, I'm getting

you that, and I'm doing this to make you happy.

Get with the program.

Right, and so those are three of many that are the main ones that I see families falling

into at this point.

And actually some parents have said, I'm just too tired to deal with

things when I get home and that adds up over time at night and over the weekends you're

too tired and behaviors get worse and worse and then you explode and then that affects your

relationship there's more division and then you're too tired to deal with that behavior

...