Keeping your marriage happy, healthy and strong after kids is challenging — for most couples. It takes work! But it’s worth it. The rewards of a happy marriage are worth the effort you put in to protect and grow your relationship.
This blog post shares tips, tricks and reminders to keep your marriage thriving after you have kids. It won’t be easy. But it is possible! If you’re reading this, we assume that you value your marriage and want to keep working hard to make it stronger than ever before. You can do this with some intentional action daily.
Daily Habits to Build and Maintain a Strong Marriage
There are established habits that you can form to strengthen your marriage and keep it healthy. We’ve found that most couples who have happy, successful marriages share 3 daily habits.
– Communication: Open, honest and real communication is key to any successful relationship. Couples who are successful at communicating can navigate through the hard times together and celebrate the good times together.
– Trust: Trust is built over time by being transparent, communicating well and consistently keeping promises. Healthy marriages are built on a foundation of mutual trust.
– Sacrifice: Successful couples know how to give up the things that make them individually happy to build and maintain the relationship.
Keep the Romance Going
While you’re busy keeping your kids safe, healthy and entertained, you may forget to keep the romance going in your marriage. Romance is important in any marriage. Keeping it going helps couples build a strong foundation for their family and relationship.
There are plenty of ways to keep the romance going without spending a ton of time or money. Here are a few ideas:
– Send your spouse flowers for no reason: They don’t even have to be red roses.
– Enjoy a weekend getaway together: You don’t have to go far, even a short drive to a nearby city will do the trick.
– Plan a date night at home: It can be as simple as ordering take-out and watching a movie together on the couch.
Set Boundaries
In any relationship, boundaries are important. However, in the early stages of marriage, setting boundaries can be difficult. With young kids in the picture, it can be challenging to set boundaries in your marriage.
However, it is essential. Why is setting boundaries important in your marriage? Boundaries help couples avoid unhealthy behaviors and actions that could harm the relationship.
They also help you avoid over-extending yourself or feeling like you are being taken advantage of by your spouse. Setting boundaries could look like this:
– Setting time apart for yourself and your interests: You don’t have to give any of these up, but you do have to make it clear what your expectations are around them.
– Have a “no interruptions” rule during the times that you are together: You and your spouse need time to connect, discuss and build your relationship.
Have Realistic Expectations
Newlyweds often have high expectations for their marriage. While it’s great to have high hopes, it’s also important to have realistic expectations in your relationship. Setting realistic expectations helps both you and your spouse avoid feeling disappointed.
Here’s how to set realistic expectations in your marriage:
– Talk openly with your spouse about what you expect from each other: This is a great opportunity to share your hopes, dreams and fears for your relationship.
– Consider the seasons of marriage: There are times in every marriage when things are going well and times when they aren’t going as smoothly.
– Remember that even the best marriages go through ups and downs: If you set realistic expectations, you can weather the stormy times together.
Make Time for Just the Two of You
Couples who have children often forget to make time for themselves and their relationships. This is a mistake. You should be making time for just the two of you consistently.
How often should married couples make time for each other? You could choose to make it a weekly or monthly date night. Or, you could make the time for just the two of you a daily habit.
Whatever works for you, do it. When is the best time to make time for just the two of you? With young children, it can be challenging to find the right time to do this. However, if you make it a priority, you can find the time.
Don’t Forget Your Best Friends
The relationship between a couple and their children is often compared to a marriage. A marriage is a relationship between two people, whereas a relationship between a couple and their children is a relationship between three people.
We often forget that the relationship between us and our spouse is also a friendship. We are friends first and then we are partners. Our relationship is a friendship between two people. Keeping your friendship first and foremost will benefit your relationship greatly.
It will help you avoid becoming more like co-parents than a loving couple. Having a strong friendship can help you avoid growing distant from each other. Friendship happens naturally with time. But, you can help it along by being intentional in keeping the friendship between you two strong.
Wrapping Up
Keeping your marriage strong after kids are challenging — for most couples. It takes work! But it’s worth it. The rewards of a happy marriage are worth the effort you put in to protect and grow your relationship.
This blog post shares tips, tricks and reminders to keep your marriage thriving after you have kids. It won’t be easy.
But it is possible! If you’re reading this, we assume that you value your marriage and want to keep working hard to make it stronger than ever before. You can do this with some intentional action daily.
