Do small things like a gentle greeting really help reduce conflict?

Frequent kind words lower the temperature at home, making conflicts that arise easier to resolve. The Prophet ﷺ said: “A good word is charity” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2989), and this charity is invested every day. A home whose members greet each other gently has a store of love to draw on when disagreements happen. On the other hand, a home used to grumbling and sarcasm easily explodes over small things. Start the day with one kind greeting and end it with one word of appreciation. When tension arises, that history of kind words softens it. Big changes in the mood of a home begin with a gentle tongue. See communication & emotions.