Is frequent conflict between mothers and daughters common?
Published 01/30/2003 02:37 PM | Updated 02/16/2010 09:13 AM My teen daughter, Cynthia, and I have incredible fights sometimes. No one has ever gotten to me in quite the way she can. We actually yell at each other when these battles are going on. How unusual is that kind of conflict between mothers and daughters? And is there hope for us? Unfortunately, it is very common. Many psychologists have described a “thing” that occurs between some mothers and teenage daughters. Even though they love each other, the friction between them can generate a lot of heat. It probably results from a phenomenon that has been called “two women in the kitchen” — a kind of natural competitiveness that occurs between females in the family. It can also be caused by a mother’s inability to cope with an extremely difficult and antagonistic kid. Whatever the source, it can make life unpleasant for several years. I know women who would give their lives for their daughters, yet they say, with fire in their eyes, “
