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in laws Archives - SYMBIS Assessment

Jan 20
Love2

How to Navigate Life with Demanding Family Members

By Conflict, In-laws & Family No Comments

All families face personality clashes, strain, and conflict from time to time. If someone in your family is demanding or difficult to interact with, their behavior makes interactions tough for everyone. A demanding parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle can put a significant strain on a married couple’s relationship if the couple doesn’t have a game plan for navigating that relative’s demands. Demanding family members can create unnecessary drama for everyone–something most people want to avoid. Planning a calm, loving response to neutralize stress is important so that you, your spouse, and the rest of your family can enjoy a healthy,…

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Oct 30
Love3

What to Do When Your Spouse’s Family Doesn’t Bond

By In-laws & Family, Marriage, Relationships 3 Comments

If you come from a family that is connected and has traditions, it can be tough to walk into a new family that doesn’t share this special bond. Marriage brings on both the better and the worse, and marrying into a family who doesn’t get along, or lacks a bond, may be a tough road you have to face together. When you’ve had warm and wonderful memories growing up, it’s hard to accept that not all families are this way. And with the Holiday’s quickly approaching, it’ll likely bring out feelings of hurt more so than other times. This week,…

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Jul 25
Love2

Tips for Navigating Difficult In-Law Relationships – Part 2

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 12 Comments

Most married couples are uncomfortably familiar with some level of stress when it comes to their in-laws. Maybe you’re dealing with invasion of your privacy, criticism, or jealousy, to name a few issues. The bottom line is, you married one another’s families when you married each other–now, you need to be able to work together to navigate the difficult situations that may arise from time to time. This week, we’re completing our two-part series on challenging in-law relationships. (If you missed part 1, you can catch up here.) Read on to learn a few more ways you and your spouse…

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Jul 18
Love6

Tips for Navigating Difficult In-Law Relationships – Part 1

By Conflict, In-laws & Family 25 Comments

It’s very common for married couples to experience conflict with their in-laws on one or both sides of the family. Sometimes this can be a minor annoyance; other times, it’s a major source of stress. Whatever your situation, it’s challenging to navigate these complex–and sometimes difficult–relationships. In-law conflict is almost inevitable for every marriage. The good news is, it’s possible to navigate it successfully while continuing to enjoy relationships with both of your families. Let’s dive into some of the things you and your spouse can do to ease the tension between your marriage and your extended families. Present a…

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Nov 08
Love16

How to Handle In-Law Conflict During the Holidays (Part 2)

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 5 Comments

Dealing with in-law conflict is hard any time of year…but it’s so much harder during the holidays. Today, we’re continuing the conversation about how to handle issues with your spouse’s parents (or yours) this holiday season. Check out part 1 here. If your spouse rejects your family Maybe, for whatever reason, your spouse dislikes your family. And when they join you at gatherings on your side of the family, they act snarky, sarcastic, rude, or completely uninterested in being there. When you’re trying to manage your spouse’s behavior, that can take all the enjoyment out of your family’s holiday celebrations….

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Nov 01
Love19

How to Handle In-Law Conflict During the Holidays

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 2 Comments

If you’re engaged or newly married, you might be wondering why holiday in-law conflict is such a big deal…and you might even be thinking of ways to try to avoid is completely. Unfortunately, no matter who your parents are, how much they love you, or how much they support you as a couple, your families are different. Those differences are going to create some inevitable conflict once you’re married…especially when it comes to holiday gatherings. Every family functions by its own unspoken rules; we like to say each family has its own “code,” whether they realize it or not. They…

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Jul 08
Love70

How to Respond When In-Laws Reject You

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 301 Comments

What can I do if my in-laws don’t accept me? When someone withholds their blessing from you, that hurts. You feel rejected and “not good enough.” And when your in-laws are the people who have rejected you, the pain can feel almost unbearable. In today’s video, we’re discussing how to respond when your in-laws have rejected you. Not only is it hurtful to you that your spouse’s parents (or other relatives) have made it clear that they don’t approve of (or even like) you; it’s also devastating because it creates distance between your spouse and their family. Everyone is human…

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Jul 01
Love18

Modern Partnerships: Marriage in Today’s Culture

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family, Self Reflection No Comments

Are more couples moving away from the traditional model of marriage and towards a partnership? In our experience, the ways individual couples function is something that is completely unique to every couple. This isn’t necessarily in the traditional or theological sense; rather, it’s about the dynamic that each couple settles on that works best for them. In today’s video, we’re discussing different relationship dynamics, and how couples tend to settle on whatever works best for them. Through third-party research and our own observation, we’ve seen three common relationship models: The peer marriage, where the spouses are partners who divvy up…

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Jun 17
Love17

Ending the In-Law Comparison Game

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family, Self Reflection No Comments

How do I get my husband to stop holding my parents to the same financial standards as his parents? So your in-laws have gifted you with something very nice, or very expensive. Let’s say it’s a large sum of money to go toward a down payment on a home for you and your spouse. What happens when your parents can’t match the same contribution your in-laws have made? And how do you handle it when your spouse holds your parents to the same financial standards as his or her parents? In today’s video, we’re discussing strategies for ending the in-law…

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