Tips On Having A Happy And Fulfilling Married Life

The more I listen to most of my married friends, the more worried I get. Each time we sit down and share a cup of coffee, all we pour out from our hearts are problems, how disappointed we are with our spouses. There is one thing we all have encountered in our marriages though, ‘communication breakdown’. Even when we think we have done wrong, we do not take the time to say we are sorry, we do not stop and think what damage we are doing to one another.

When we walk down the aisle and take those marital vows, do we really know what we are getting ourselves into? We vow to love and respect one another, to cling to each other in times of joy and sadness, in sickness and in health, to leave and forsake all others including our relatives and live with one another till death do us part. Well things always look up for the first few months or so, but then we start to forget the passion and the love that we once declared for one another. Finally we wake up to the reality of living with our spouses under the same roof. We are suddenly exposed to the weakness of the other person.

Hundreds of literature has been written on how to have a happy marriage, but we do not pay attention at all. If only we could be a little more honest with our spouses about our feelings instead of shutting down and consult with each other when we need to do things for our relatives then we would not have a choice but enjoy our married lives.

Lets all borrow some time from our busy schedules, write things about our spouses that we feel are good and on the other hand write what we think is wrong. If the good out weigh the bad, then we should by all means work it out, and if the bad outweigh the good then that is it, we have got no chance in that marriage.

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Parenting Tips On Modelling The Behaviour Of Our Children

As parents, our behavior influences our children more than anyone else. We are a role model for them to follow. Do the things you would want them to do as well. If you want them not to use foul language, keep your language clean. Allow me to say that children have changed little since Joseph's brothers sold him to the Egyptians, and the father's role has changed a little too. Traditionally, fathers were known as the authority figures especially when it came to enforcing discipline.

The father's role is to be there after mom has had the baby; he should try and share any job around and also pay attention to the child's discipline, talk and listen to the child. A father's most important job though is to love the child. It is important for both parents to be involved in enforcing good values in their children.

Parental attention is very important to a child, this means focusing on the positive and correcting any negative behaviour; this way you encourage a child to behave well. In some cases you can actually reward a child for doing a certain good thing, though be careful not to over do it. It should not be like bribing them to behave well. They should understand that rewards come with responsibility.

Try re-directing, where by you explain to the child either verbally or physically the better way to behave. This guides the child and also communicates to them what works for you and others. It works even in small children since they are capable of reading your body language.

Parents should create rules for their family and make the children know the consequences of breaking them. This gives them direction. More importantly, we should be our children's friends. Encourage them to open up to you and talk to you about their fears, what makes them happy and their thoughts. For example instead of shouting them down or spanking them (which will either make them shut down or become rebellious) because they misbehaved, try talking first and find out why they did it. Good luck!

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