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5 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Relationship With Your In-laws
When two families unite, there are bound to be some growing pains.
![This is what emotional incest looks like](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/4a78144157721ee00750f79e7290077601c81c08-1279x854.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
Enmeshment involves relationships with blurry or nonexistent boundaries, often in a family.
![Family portrait](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/3a3897656754c08297dd7c7efba4e24fe8a3da14-6016x4016.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
If a grandparent wants to have a healthy relationship with their grandchild, they need to get along with their adult child and their partner or co-parent.
![You don't need to apologize for being a bad kid](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/1c4bac1783728192762a521b32eb53f8555df48b-6016x4000.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
If your parents are asking you to apologize for how you were in childhood, you need to seriously consider if it makes sense to apologize for that behavior.
![ending patterns of generational dysfunction and trauma](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/e5d182e4cdcf1a88d996388da7223177f2195a51-1920x1280.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
Generations of adults continue to repeat the same harmful patterns they experienced in their own childhood.
![sibling dynamics and being on the receiving end of no-contact](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/8da38cc87bf7cf914e7010fc22e8a291e81fe8e0-5184x3456.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
A unique case of sibling dynamics and the often lonely and confusing experience of being on the receiving end of no-contact
![In very chaotic, dysfunctional families, one of the children will typically take on the role of managing the chaos.](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/f7bceabb91c41619a4511b45f7ec1230fc3fc579-4608x3456.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
In very chaotic, dysfunctional families, one of the children will typically take on the role of managing the chaos.
![grandmother yells at the granddaughter](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/4aad1ba207ac372eb2c8f13b4724fa2a0fe06c91-3264x2448.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
Whitney Goodman, LMFT, helps a mother deal with her mother yelling at her child on this episode of The Calling Home Podcast.
![Growing up in a chaotic home](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/0ccf852bedc0fbb31c028297320662aaabfd7dc4-5472x3648.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
Childhood chaos can negatively impact your adult relationships.
![5 signs you grew up in a chaotic home](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/d4d66dc9e18243342c1dcea5745a5127f6b76361-6000x4000.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
In chaotic households, you don’t know what will happen or what someone will do next.
![adult children blaming their parents](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/4fbc7636a99fe0244415f319b789d3de95872d68-4000x6000.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
Are they blaming them or is something deeper happening?
![repairing with your adult child](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/15edfa9c1a8323bb4c2d53e1f4197df975cd8c09-5243x3438.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
You will mess up. Learn how to repair.
![exploring your childhood without blaming or rejecting your parents](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/jt1al4m0/production/7bef0cf6cca55d1ccbe77ce227b89d4bbb6e656c-5386x3591.jpg?w=3840&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)
Recognizing the effects of your upbringing is not an indictment of your parents.