It’s been my experience that research findings often-times confirm what we’ve known to be true through observation, intuition, and just good-old common sense. That’s certainly the case with a new study entitled “When Do Adolescents Feel Loved?” that’s been published in the journal, Emotion. The study tells us that in parent teen relationships there are daily fluctuations in feeling loved. Any parent and former teen knows this to be true. But according to the study, how we choose to communicate and resolve conflict can either strengthen or weaken our relationship with our kids. It’s not at all surprising that being warm and supportive can take the sting out of conflict. As I read the study’s results, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the instructions the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians in Ephesians 6:4: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Nurturing children in the faith with supportive discipline is our imperative.