But whatever negative interactions you might -- or might not -- have with your relatives hopefully won't be as bad as this.
Here's the mother's story of her relationship with her 15-/16-year old daughter Emily:
"Mother said Emily’s behavior was
“uncontrollable.” Emily has a “strong character” and does not
want to follow any of the house rules or hear any type of
redirection or advice from her parents. She came home from
school around 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. When Mother would call to find
out where she was, Emily did not answer the phone calls or
turned off her phone, which worried Mother. Emily was
currently failing her classes. Both parents were trying to
motivate and help Emily with school. Both parents had tried to
discipline her by taking way her phone and WiFi privileges.
Mother suggested they do things together in an effort to build a better bond, but Emily refused. Emily appeared to Mother to
prefer spending time with her friends than with her family.
Mother described the start of the altercation. She found
photos of Emily posed in a bikini lying down on a bed. She
believed Emily’s boyfriend took the photos. Mother ripped them
up so they could not be used to bully Emily. When Mother told
Emily she had destroyed the photos, Emily began throwing
things around the bedroom they were in. She then began to
advance toward Mother. Laughing, Emily started to rip up
photos of her younger self. These included photos of Emily with
her best friend, which Mother knew had sentimental value to
Emily because her best friend had just moved away. Emily tried
to hit Mother, who grabbed Emily’s wrist to keep from being hit.
Emily grabbed the bunk bed ladder and began to push it in
Mother’s direction. Mother had never seen Emily like this and
was scared by her behavior. Emily pushed Mother, Mother
pushed back, and Emily punched her. Mother tried to hold
Emily’s wrists to stop the punching. Emily kicked Mother in the
stomach and they grabbed each other’s hair. They fell to the
floor; Emily climbed on top of Mother and began to hit her with a
closed fist. Mother still had Emily by the hair. They stopped
fighting and Emily went into the living room where she began
kicking a glass table. She overturned the living room loveseat.
Mother decided to call 911 because she did not know what
else to do. Emily moved to the kitchen and began kicking the
refrigerator and opening cabinets, throwing everything to the
floor. Emily then charged Mother and began kicking her torso.
At that point, they grabbed each other by the hair and fell to the
floor again. Emily again began punching Mother with a closed
fist. Mother flipped over and choked Emily with one hand to get her to stop."
Makes those "uncomfortable holiday dinner conversations with relatives" look fairly minor, eh?
