That's Fit

Parenting is not easy. Even the best of moms deal with tantrums from toddlers. But would you believe a statistic that says mothers and their young children argue upwards of 20 to 25 times an hour?

It sounds sensational, especially when displayed as a headline. But there's more to this study than a bunch of strife. Researchers watched 60 pairs of moms and toddlers in a lab to try out various conditions that would make the child more prone to having a temper tantrum. The mothers were told to play with their child, but enforce rules that would make him or her likely to argue.

This was done at a little over two years of age. A second phase observed similar situations six months later. The findings reveal that under strenuous circumstances, the number of arguments was up to two dozen on average. However, my only problem with this study is that it's easy to infer round-the-clock temper tantrums. In reality, the scientists purposefully set it up that way. They're quick to note that these conflicts are normal for that age -- it's just interesting to see concrete stats applied to child rearing tendencies.

A big part of being healthy is having strong supportive relationships. It's impossible to have a "perfect" relationship, where there are never any arguments or fighting, so to keep things as healthy as possible try these three tips for fighting fair:

• You are together, so work together. Success and happiness take effort from both people.
• Try not to attack your partner with insults and stuff like "the silent treatment." No matter how upset you are, hurting each other (especially on purpose) will only make things worse.
• Keep it between the two of you. It's embarrassing enough to have private problems out there for everyone to see, but it's even worse if the very person you're trying to work things out with is the one who put them there.

Luckily for all of us, fighting isn't all bad. If done right, it can actually make a relationship stronger.