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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Having Sex After Having a Baby: Tips for Husbands

And Baby Makes Three: The Six-Step Plan for Preserving Marital Intimacy and Rekindling Romance After Baby ArrivesHas there recently been a new addition to your family?  If so, congratulations!  There is nothing more exciting or rewarding than becoming a parent. 

As rewarding and as exciting as it can be to be a new parent, you may want to start returning to your normal routines.  Depending on your relationship with your wife, that routine may have involved daily or regular sex.  Unfortunately, many men are disappointed to learn that their sex life is not going to be what it was like before, at least right away. 

If this is your first child, you may not be familiar with how sex after a baby works for women.  If that is the case, please continue reading on, as a few helpful tips are outlined below for your convenience.

Most importantly it is important to give your wife space and time.  She may not be ready for sex yet, emotionally or physically.  In fact, did you know that women need time to heal after having a baby?  Many doctors recommend waiting at least a month before having sex after giving birth.  With that said, your wife may be different.  She may be ready to resume intimacy sooner or later than the average, recommended time frame.

In keeping with giving your wife time, it is important to not have high expectations right away.  These expectations should also include more than just intimacy.  As previously stated, having a baby is exciting and rewarding, but it can also be very overwhelming for new parents, especially moms.  Late night feeding sessions and fussy babies may prevent your wife from wanting to initiate sex, as well as getting many of her daily tasks completed, like cleaning the house or having dinner prepared on time.

Speaking of which, if you want to improve the intimacy in your relationship and not just in the bedroom, be sure to help your wife out.  This may involve taking a late night feeding session with your new baby, doing the dishes, cooking dinner, and so forth.  Many new moms feel so helpless and overwhelmed immediately following the birth of a baby.  Do not let your wife feel this way.  The kind gestures of helping on your part may improve your relationship and in more ways than one.

It is also important to not push your wife to have sexual relations with you when she is uncomfortable or unready to do so.  As previously stated, it does take women time to heal after having a baby.  It is also important to take other factors into consideration.  Is your baby sleeping in your room?  If so, your wife may not feel comfortable being intimate then.  Your wife may also not be ready to hire a baby sitter or even allow a trusted relative to care for your child.  This means that a romantic weekend or night away is often out of the question.  Most new moms needs months or even longer before they are ready for this big step.

Since there is a good chance that your wife may not be ready to resume intimacy in your relationship, it is important to be patient.  Instead of dwelling on not having sex, work for it.  Use the time to “wow,” your wife all over again.  Do so with romantic gestures, such as preparing a nice dinner at home, flowers, and love notes.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Starting an Allowance

Money Doesn't Grow On Trees: A Parent's Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Children

If you are at a cross-road on when to start giving your children allowance, then, this article is for you. or you are wondering about how much to give them, you should continue reading the article. There is no age that is too early for the children to be given allowances. The article will teach you how much and the ways to decide how they get the allowance.

    It’s never too early to start teaching your children about money.  A great way to begin this is by giving them an allowance.  There are several ways to do this, and I’ll talk about a few of them.The No-Cash Allowance: A Practical Guide for Teaching Your Children How to Manage Money (Mom's Choice Award Recipient)

    You can give allowance based on chores with specific money amounts.  For example, you can decide to pay fifty cents for setting the dinner table, $1.00 for keeping their bedroom clean all week.  You decide the chores you would like your child to do, and then show them how to do the work correctly.  Let them know ahead of time how much they get for each job, and keep track.  Decide how often they will receive the money they have earned.

    Another option is to have a set amount of allowance based on their age.  My children earn half their age in allowance.  My five year old gets $2.50 a week.  In order to earn their allowance, they have to keep their room clean, do an assigned job each day, and help out with other things that we might need.  When they don’t do jobs or keep their room clean, they lose part of their allowance for the week.

    Some parents give their children money without requiring the child to earn it.  I don’t like this option because I like giving a value to the money.  When children have to earn it, it means more to them.  However, if you don’t like the idea of putting your kids to work, you can still teach them about money.  I would still suggest assigning a requirement to the money, such as good grades or good behavior.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Relationships With Men

or a woman, perhaps the most challenging relationships in her life will be her relationships with men. This is not exclusive to the men she dates, and the one she will end up marrying, this means her dealings with all men. The problem most women find is that men are hard to understand, though granted, men will say the same thing about women. It is true that men and women just think differently, and simply don’t talk enough. This can make a woman’s relationships with men full of miscommunications and misunderstandings. It’s a wonder anyone gets together at all isn’t it? On top of that, brothers, dads, and male coworkers add to the confusion.

No matter how much advice women get about relationships with men, it’s hard to get it right. While I agree that good communication is a definite benefit, it doesn’t help as much as people would like you to believe. You can say all the words you want, but if you don’t understand those words, you get nowhere. The common mistake most women make in relationships with men is trying to read more into their words than is really there. On the flip side, men often don’t hear enough of what a woman is saying. This doesn’t mean either side is wrong, it just means things are left unsaid, and things are imagined that aren’t there.

You can find help with relationships with men in a lot of places, but remember that advice can be a bit one sided. There are services that are said to help women understand men, and also coaching services to help those who seem to feel they are bad daters. There is no magic cure, but you may find that you are sending out the wrong signals when you don’t intend to. Body language is an important aspect of relationships with men. You may be telling men you are difficult or off limits without even realizing it. Light His Fire - How to Keep a Man Hopelessly and Passionately in Love with You (VHS SET)

If you feel stuck, and don’t understand why your relationships with men don’t work out very well, there is no harm in asking for help. You can find self-help books on the subject, or you can ask friends who seem to have a successful dating life. Finding out how to better understand the opposite sex may truly help you improve your relationships with men, and help your communications with everyone else in your life as well.
22 Things a Woman Must Know: If She Loves a Man With Asperger's Syndrome 



Monday, May 9, 2011

Tips for Dating Someone With Children

Dating can be complicated enough on it’s own but when there are children involved things can get even trickier.  Many people shy away from starting a relationship with a partner who already has children and many singles with children are also apprehensive about starting a relationship.  While dating a person with children can lead to a wonderful relationship it is important to exercise caution to ensure that the children are not hurt by the relationship.  While the existence of children in a dating situation does complicate things, it does not have to destine the relationship to failure.  The Single Mother's Survival Guide

Deciding when to meet the children of the person you are dating is a crucial element of the equation.  It is not necessary to meet the children on the first date.  Doing so can be confusing to the children if the relationship does not progress and you are soon out of the picture.  While it is important that the person you are dating disclose that they have children, meeting them is not a necessary first step.  It’s important that the relationship has a chance to grow before bringing the children into the equation.  After all, while the children may be an important part of your partner’s life, you have to have some time to decide if you think this is a worthwhile relationship before deciding if you want to become a parental figure in the children’s lives.  If you have been dating for awhile and things are starting to become more serious, now would be a good time to meet your partner’s children and get to know them as well.  You don’t want to rush into meeting the children too early in your relationship but you also don’t want to wait too long either.  Waiting until marriage plans are already under way will leave the children feeling helpless and powerless about the situation.  Meeting the children of the person you are dating is an important step in your relationship and the timing of this step is also very important. 

Once you have met the children involved it is important to be cognizant of their feelings.  While you are in the relationship with their parent it is also crucial to build a relationship with the children as well if you plan to continue your dating relationship.  This may be difficult if the children are resentful.  If the biological parent is out of the picture due to death or divorce, the children may see you as trying to replace their parent and they may act angry or hurtful towards you.  It is important to bond with the children while assuring them that you are not trying to replace their parent in any way.  Sitting down with your partner and his or her children to discuss what type of role you will play in the lives of the children is a good idea.  This gives everyone the opportunity to express their feelings and it is also an opportunity to establish boundaries regarding discipline and decision making.   Children like to feel as though they have some control in the situation so allowing them to express their feelings will help your relationship with the children to grow. 

After you have begun to bond with the children it is time to once again focus your attention on the dating relationship.  Meeting your partner’s children is important as is establishing and maintaining functioning relationships with them but it’s critical that you not lose sight of your relationship with your partner after the children have been introduced into the relationship.  At this juncture of the relationship it is crucial to balance time with your partner and the children.  It’s fine to continue activities with the entire family but it’s also important to have time alone with your partner as you did earlier in the relationship.  Setting aside time just for you and your partner will ensure that the relationship continues to grow and flourish. 

Dating someone with children can be complicated but following the tips provided above will help to ease the situation.  Be sure to wait until the relationship has become serious before involving the children so that they do not have unrealistic expectations.  Once you decide to meet the children, take things slowly and be aware of their feelings.  Following their lead will ensure that you are not moving too quickly.  After the children are involved, remember to put aside time for just you and your partner to continue your own relationship.  These tips will help to create a loving relationship with both your partner and his or her children.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Chores With Chldren

When should we start chores with the children? If you want to know, then you must read this article. The system to use in chore assigning and motivating our children to carry out chores given to them will be discussed in the article.

We decided to start chores with our kids, and give them an allowance to go with it.  When we started, we had a set amount they earned each week, but we would take 50 cents away each time they didn’t do a job.  One daughter decided that she would determine whether she did the job based on how much she lost if she didn’t complete it.  She would also ask for more money if we asked her to do anything else.  So we changed our system.

Assigning chores with children is a great way to teach them the value of work and belonging to a family.  In the summer when school is out, we give our children an allowance with the chores and a chore chart with specific jobs each day.  During the school year, we take away the chore chart and the allowance, but they are still required to help out around the house when asked.  We explain that helping out with the house is part of being a family.

Other families handle chores in different ways.  Each family is different, and the children in the family are different as well.  It is important to find a system that works with you and your kids, and is easy to manage.  No one wants to spend all day harassing their kids to get their work done.  And in the real work, a boss wouldn’t do this either, they would lose their job.

Starting chores is a good way to prepare your children for life.  It gives them a sense of purpose and accomplishment, shows the importance of working together as a family, and teaches them that work can be rewarding.  Kids are never too young to start with age appropriate jobs.