I love my husband and we’ve been married for eight years now. Our lives together before our kids were born were full of adventure and fun. Like most married couples with no kids, we could always go out whenever we wanted. For example, in the past, we’d been known to get up and go to Denny’s at 3 AM because we were both awake and hungry! All of that changed, however, when we had Hallie four years ago. We both love her to pieces, but let’s face it, life as we once knew it has changed. We barely have time to go grocery shopping let alone have a nice and quiet dinner together. We both feel the loss of our vibrant relationship and don’t know how to navigate this thing called ‘parenthood’ while having a loving and fulfilling marriage.
Keeping your relationship strong as a couple is challenging enough, but what about when caring for and raising children comes into the picture? Making time for your spouse can feel overwhelming, especially when you feel like you’re in everyday survival mode. When couples become parents, their relationships and how they interact with each other change. However, if you keep the suggestions listed below in mind, you can nurture a healthy family relationship built on love and respect while still maintaining a strong and fulfilling relationship with your partner.
When couples become parents, their relationships and how they interact with each other change. Share on XIn this piece, we’ll be going over five important tips to help keep both your family and relationship strong.
We understand that being married with a family can take a heavy toll, but with Rice Psychology Group’s help, you can learn to make things better. Contact us in Tampa today to get started.
Listen
Listen way more than you think you need to and try to understand each other’s point of view. This means paying attention and focusing on the things that interest your spouse, even when they might not interest you.
Show Your Appreciation
Catch your partner “being good”. Tell him or her when they look good or when you appreciate the nice things they do for you. Let them know that you see the effort they put into the relationship. Be cognizant of the good things! Remember, you aren’t just parents, you also have identities outside of being parents as well. Nurture that in each other.
Care for Yourself
Yes, your partner is supposed to love you for better or for worse, but don’t take that literally. Taking care of yourself and paying attention to how you look and feel are so important for your relationship. When you feel good about yourself, your relationship will benefit from that. As a parent, you can feel exhausted and stressed. Recognize those times and ask for some “me time”. You both deserve it.
Yes, your partner is supposed to love you for better or for worse, but don’t take that literally. Share on XCare for Your Relationship
Being a parent may seem like a 24/7 job, and in most cases it is, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take time out to care of your intimate relationship as a couple. Plan for date nights and leave the day-to-day stuff at home. Have intellectual conversations or go to a sporting event; do something that you both enjoy without the worry of changing diapers or helping with bath time. Find a qualified sitter to help you make these nights happen, and make them a priority.
Communicate
You can’t solve or fix problems if you don’t talk about them. Talk to each other immediately when something is bothering you. Don’t wait for it to fester into something much bigger than it should be. This is especially true for couples that are parents. Always communicate on how to handle issues with your children. Many times, it can be hard to agree on how you want to raise, discipline and even teach your children. This can cause issues in your relationship.
You can’t solve or fix problems if you don’t talk about them. Share on XGrow Stronger with Our Help
At Rice Psychology Group of Tampa, we offer parent consultation services to those needing to address everyday child-related trials that often come with parenthood. We work with married, separated, divorcing, divorced and single parents. If you’re ready to face the issues that are causing problems in your relationship or parenting, then contact us.
Thanks for these tips – for Valentine’s Day this year, my wife and I agreed that our gift to each other should be to work more on our relationship. She found a book called “The Six Passions of the Red-Hot Lover” by Wendy Brown, http://whylovesucceeds.com/; and I’m doing my own research. I appreciate the post and the tips, I’m sure she will too.
Hello, Jacob. It’s so great to hear that you and your wife are working to strengthen your relationship! Doing so takes time and effort from both spouses, and we’re glad to hear that you both are so dedicated. Thanks for reading our blog.
I loved that you pointed out that being a parent may seem like a 24/7 job, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take time out to care of your intimate relationship as a couple. My child was born 2 years ago, and since that time something went wrong with our relationship. My husband does not believe that it may be serious, but I think that we need some professional psychological help in order to restore our love and admiration of each other.
Hi, Steele. Please feel free to contact us if you’d like some more information about our services and how we can help you.
Yes those points are perfect.. Understanding is very necessary for every relationship..
Helpful and interesting guide that couples should follow through, Thanks for sharing.