9
Family Matters
An explosive child can lay bare
many family issues that might never have risen to the
surface had the parents been blessed with a less difficult
child. But family issues can also complicate or impede
implementation of Plan B. Maladaptive family commu-
nication patterns, for example, can make it a lot harder
for family members to discuss important problems pro-
ductively; in some instances, these communication pat-
terns can actually fuel explosions. Sibling issues, never
easy to deal with under the best circumstances, are even
more troublesome when one of the siblings is inflexible,
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