Yelling works but only if you save it for emergencies. If you yell at your kids all of the time, they get used to it and it loses its effect. It’s not surprising that we yell, though. It can feel frustrating when your kids won’t listen or when you feel like you are doing a bad job as a parent.
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Recently, I took my daughter to the restroom at a local restaurant. As you might expect in a health-food restaurant located in a progressive city, the restroom was labeled not men, not women, not family, not restroom; it was labeled ‘all genders.’ It didn’t occur to me to think about my daughter’s reaction to this term, given the Class One Potty Emergency at hand.
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“Planning for my death and mental or physical incapacity was so much fun!” Said no one, ever (and I don’t expect to see a song titled, “Let’s Talk About Death” hit the top 10 anytime soon). Let’s face it, discussing death and incapacity is not one of the highlights of adulthood. It is, however, an important and oddly comforting task to check off your to-do list.
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Like a lot of married couples, my husband and I rarely get to enjoy a date night. Busy work schedules, family obligations, and - let’s face it - sometimes sheer exhaustion prevents us from making quality couple time a priority. But according to a recent study conducted by The National Marriage Project, today’s parents are foregoing date night at our own peril. Researchers at The University of Virginia determined that couples who go out together at least once a week are three times more likely to report being ‘very happy’ in their relationships, they are less likely to get divorced, and they make better parents, too.
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