Contented parents, Cheerful children- Your Marriage plays a vital role in raising your kids
Your children watch you closer than you may think. From infancy, the way you and your spouse behave around your child has a direct impact on who your little one will grow up to become.
One of the best pieces of parenting advice is that children imitate parental behavior, so make sure you’re setting a good example.
If you have a positive outlook on life, your child is more likely to grow up with an optimistic attitude. On the other hand, if you and your spouse frequently argue it can hinder your child’s development.
The happier you are, the happier your children will be.
Follow these marriage tips to make sure your children are taught positive relationship behaviors that revolve around love, respect, and communication.
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Teaching Respect
Respect breeds happiness. Much of what your child learns from you comes through unspoken actions, so teach them to show respect through your actions. When you make decisions, consult your spouse. When they are speaking to you, put down your smart devices and give them your undivided attention. Respond positively to requests from your spouse, be courteous to one another, and validate your partner’s feelings. These kind actions will not go unnoticed by your child.
How you and your spouse treat one another will impact how your children treat their friends, family, and future romantic interests. By showing one another respect in issues both big and small, your child will learn to do the same.
Fighting Fair as a Teaching Tool
Of course, you would not want to openly argue in front of your child, but if it happens why not use it as a great teaching tool? One of the best ways to ensure you are part of a happy couple is to learn to fight fair with your spouse. These are the essential do’s and don’ts for arguing fairly in your marriage.
DO: Give each other uninterrupted attention when trying to resolve an issue. Display patience and empathy for their side of things. Compromise. Look for ways to resolve the problem. Apologize if you are in the wrong.
DO NOT: When arguing with your spouse, do not interrupt them when they are speaking. Do not resort to name-calling or berate your partner. Do not shout or become aggressive, and do not go to bed angry.
Happy Outlooks Lower Anxiety
One great piece of parenting advice is to have a positive attitude. Research conducted on how parent behavior affects children reveals that children with negative mothers reported higher levels of problematic behaviors. This shows just how important it is to be a healthy, positive role-model for your young ones.
Teach your children to view life with a “glass half-full” mentality. The happier your outlook on troublesome situations, the more likely your child is to look at the positives in life.
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Spouses Need Regular Attention
One of the best marriage tips you can apply is to show your spouse regular affection.
Creator of the Gottman Method couples therapy, Dr. Gottman conducted a study of newlywed couples to gauge how affection and attention play into happy marriages. Following up with them six years after marriage, Gottman found that many had stayed together, but many others had divorced since the study began.
The couples who remained happily married all had something in common, they “turned towards” one another instead of away. This means that couples frequently recognized their spouse’s need for attention, affirmation, and affection and then fulfilled that need.
This study stresses the importance of showing affection in marriage in order to stay happy and unified. In turn, your child will see firsthand how important it is to give time and attention to those you love.
Be Affectionate
Just as children will mimic aggressive behavior modeled by parents, children will also learn to show affection if they see it regularly displayed in the home. Children benefit from seeing their parents be affectionate with one another.
Holding hands, hugging, a peck on the cheek, and words of encouragement are noticed by kids, so be sure to display them often with your spouse – and not only when they’ve done something to make you happy, but on a regular, consistent basis. This will help teach your children that you do not need to be perfect or serving to be worthy of love and affection.
Make Each Other a Priority
The environment a child grows up in can say a lot about their future perceptions. For example, research conducted over the course of three decades by The Linacre Quarterly, Catholic Medical Association showed that divorce diminishes a child’s future competence in education, emotional well-being, earning power, and family relationships.
Encourage positive growth in your child by maintaining a happy marriage. Having a regular, weekly date-night is a great way to keep the spark alive. Date night allows you and your partner to be alone together, communicate, talk, laugh, and build emotional intimacy with one another. These are key factors in maintaining a healthy relationship.
Share Responsibility
Some great parenting advice is to model a good example of sharing for your children. Your children see that you and your spouse lead busy lives, so when they watch you helping one another around the house and sharing your responsibilities they are being taught teamwork.
You can even encourage your kids to participate in household duties or sharing in taking care of the family pet. Not only will this example help them share their toys, but it will also teach them to give of their time and to be helpful and kind.
Your marriage plays a vital role in raising your children. The best parenting advice is to teach your children respect, set a good example in fighting fair, show affection regularly, and create happiness habits. By following these marriage tips, you’ll contribute to your child’s happy, healthy outlook on love, respect, and friendship.
Author Bio
Sylvia Smith is a relationship expert with years of experience in training and helping couples. She has helped countless individuals and organizations around the world, offering effective and efficient solutions for healthy and successful relationships. Her mission is to provide inspiration, support and empowerment to everyone on their journey to a great marriage. She is a featured writer for Marriage.com, a reliable resource to support healthy happy marriages. Twitter, Linkedin
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Learning to fight fairly is very important. It is so helpful if parents can model it!
Sarah says
Its always so important to teach our children love and respect. It comes first from modeling it in our own behavior of course modeling it in our marriages is important.
Raquel says
We are noticing this more and more as time goes on. My husband snapped at me about a week ago jokingly, and a little after my son asked why he was being mean to me. It took me by surprise that he picked up on that! So important to have healthy interactions as a family, period.