Robin Fivush

And the mother, like, confirms, like, yes, it was a long day.

But they're laughing and they're having a good time.

And at the end, the mother says, we have a good time together, don't we?

And Rebecca says, yes, we do.

So they had different perspectives on that event.

Rebecca may not have had as much fun as her mother.

But they kind of come to an agreement that they enjoy being together and that they accept each other for who they are.

They don't have the same memory.

Absolutely.

And we see that even in the larger families when it's a whole family together.

And this is also really particularly important.

I mean, obviously, it's important to talk about the fun times, the positive events, laughing, creating those bonds.

But it's also important to talk about the challenging experiences.

Like I mentioned having a temper tantrum.

If you never talk about it, the child never learns what to do with that emotion the next time it happens.

We asked families to talk about challenging experiences.

Many of them talked about an illness or death, death of a grandparent or a beloved family pet.

And the families that were more collaborative, who really shared the emotional experience, you know, I know that you were really sad about that.

I was sad, too.

I remember, you know, that you were crying when Susie came over to hug you.