diff --git a/update_child_repos.sh b/update_child_repos.sh
index 745bec4..7061574 100755
--- a/update_child_repos.sh
+++ b/update_child_repos.sh
@@ -64,36 +64,56 @@ while IFS= read -r clone_url; do
   if [ -n "${FILES_TO_UPDATE}" ]; then
     files_changed=false
     conflicted_files=()
-    merge_base=$(git merge-base HEAD "${TEMPLATE_REMOTE_NAME}/${TEMPLATE_BRANCH}" 2>/dev/null || true)
 
     for file in ${FILES_TO_UPDATE}; do
       if ! git show "${TEMPLATE_REMOTE_NAME}/${TEMPLATE_BRANCH}:${file}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         continue
       fi
 
-      if [ -f "${file}" ] && [ -n "${merge_base}" ] && git show "${merge_base}:${file}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        tmp_base=$(mktemp)
-        tmp_template=$(mktemp)
-        tmp_current=$(mktemp)
-        git show "${merge_base}:${file}" > "${tmp_base}" 2>/dev/null
-        git show "${TEMPLATE_REMOTE_NAME}/${TEMPLATE_BRANCH}:${file}" > "${tmp_template}" 2>/dev/null
-        cp "${file}" "${tmp_current}"
+      template_content=$(git show "${TEMPLATE_REMOTE_NAME}/${TEMPLATE_BRANCH}:${file}" 2>/dev/null || true)
 
-        if git merge-file "${file}" "${tmp_base}" "${tmp_template}" 2>/dev/null; then
-          git add "${file}"
-          files_changed=true
+      if [ -f "${file}" ]; then
+        current_content=$(cat "${file}" 2>/dev/null || true)
+
+        if [ "${current_content}" = "${template_content}" ]; then
+          continue
+        fi
+
+        merge_base=$(git merge-base HEAD "${TEMPLATE_REMOTE_NAME}/${TEMPLATE_BRANCH}" 2>/dev/null || true)
+
+        if [ -n "${merge_base}" ] && git show "${merge_base}:${file}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+          tmp_base=$(mktemp)
+          tmp_template=$(mktemp)
+          tmp_current=$(mktemp)
+          
+          git show "${merge_base}:${file}" > "${tmp_base}" 2>/dev/null
+          echo "${template_content}" > "${tmp_template}"
+          echo "${current_content}" > "${tmp_current}"
+
+          if git merge-file "${tmp_current}" "${tmp_base}" "${tmp_template}" 2>/dev/null; then
+            merged_content=$(cat "${tmp_current}")
+            if [ "${current_content}" != "${merged_content}" ]; then
+              echo "${merged_content}" > "${file}"
+              git add "${file}"
+              files_changed=true
+              echo "Merged updates for ${file} in ${repo_name}"
+            fi
+          else
+            echo "Merge conflict detected in ${repo_name}:${file} - preserving local changes"
+            conflicted_files+=("${file}")
+          fi
+
+          rm -f "${tmp_base}" "${tmp_template}" "${tmp_current}"
         else
-          echo "Conflict detected in ${repo_name}:${file}"
+          echo "No merge base available for ${file} in ${repo_name} - preserving local changes"
           conflicted_files+=("${file}")
-          cp "${tmp_current}" "${file}"
-          git checkout HEAD -- "${file}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
         fi
-
-        rm -f "${tmp_base}" "${tmp_template}" "${tmp_current}"
       else
-        if git checkout "${TEMPLATE_REMOTE_NAME}/${TEMPLATE_BRANCH}" -- "${file}" 2>/dev/null; then
-          files_changed=true
-        fi
+        echo "Adding new file ${file} from template to ${repo_name}"
+        mkdir -p "$(dirname "${file}")"
+        echo "${template_content}" > "${file}"
+        git add "${file}"
+        files_changed=true
       fi
     done
 
@@ -107,6 +127,7 @@ while IFS= read -r clone_url; do
       if ! git diff --cached --quiet; then
         git commit -m "${COMMIT_MESSAGE}"
         git push
+        echo "Pushed updates to ${repo_name}"
       fi
     fi
   else
@@ -153,7 +174,7 @@ if [ ${#REPOS_WITH_CONFLICTS[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
   curl -s -X POST "${CONFLICT_WEBHOOK_URL}" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d "${conflict_json}" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
-  fi
+fi
 
 echo ""
 echo "All repositories processed successfully!"