When my kids were little and we went to the local park to play, there were almost always mothers who allowed their children, notably sons, to hit them. Oh, they’re only two or three years old, what’s the harm? The harm is patterns. The harm is not setting boundaries. The harm is allowing bad behavior to continue. There was recently a question in an online forum about how to stop a kindergartner from coming into the bathroom while the mom was doing her business. When she shut the child out, the child got mad.

If you want to break generational cycles, you need to pay attention to the things that don’t seem directly related. Now if your three-year-old son is hitting you and there is a generational cycle of domestic violence whether or not it is in your current household, allowing him to hit you is perpetuating that cycle. That is a direct connection.

The bathroom behavior is indirect. It’s not directly about abuse. It is, however, about boundaries and privacy. Those are big issues if you want to break cycles. Another is making sure that “No” is respected. Does your child keep going with obnoxious behavior when a sibling or friend has asked them to stop? They need to learn to respect the limits of others. No means No. If you have boundary issues, read Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townshend. Teach your children to treat others the way that they want to be treated.

Worried that your child will be mad at you? So what?! They will get over it and so will you. Having a kid mad at you is not the worst thing in the world. It’s not pleasant, but it won’t last forever and it says something about your tolerance for unpleasant emotions. Think of that tolerance as a muscle to build up in order to change unhealthy patterns. Your job is to break the cycle, teach them personal boundaries, to not hurt other people, and a sense of privacy. This can be done gently and with kindness. You don’t break unhealthy patterns by yelling or losing patience. Chances are you were not allowed your anger and it turned into rage, often stored in your body. Allow your child healthy anger. It won’t consume them or you. Get help to build up your tolerance or if you have problems controlling anger.

The other situation is learning to recognize when others are abusing your child. For this, you need to come to terms with who people are in your family. No more denial. Did a narcissist raise you? Their behavior was not only about you. When they speak to your child the same way they did to you, it may be time for limited contact and if they do not respect your boundaries, consider going no contact. Here are affirmations for that process. Again, you will likely need an impartial third party for guidance and support, which is why a good trauma therapist is so important to ending the cycle.

You and your partner (if you have one) need to be on the same page. You don’t need pages of rules, but you do need some. Sit down and write out 6-10 household rules for everyone (adults included).

It’s not easy being consistent and if that’s difficult, please ask for support from a counselor, parent group, therapist, grandparents. See what resources are available through your child’s school. Take parenting classes. There are lots of resources available in person and online. It will be worth all of the effort.