Parent & Family Support
Protecting your Marriage
When you married, you had a dream of how life would be together. When you have a child with special needs or a chronic medical condition, your life can become very different than you had imagined it would be. You must find a new balance.Your family’s finances and future plans will be affected. Your social life and recreational opportunities will be affected. Your self-esteem, sexuality, and spirituality may be affected. You may be a different kind of parent than you were before. All of these changes affect your marital relationship. But you can grow together and have a stronger bond than ever!
Tips for a Strong Marriage
– Schedule Time Together Every Day. Even if it is just 10 minutes, make it face-to-face and undivided attention time.
– Communicate. Talk openly about problems when they happen but also tell each other something good every day.
– Listen. You may be tired and feel unappreciated, but your partner may have unmet needs as well. Listen to all concerns and work on them together.
– Keep your Commitment to Love your Partner. Affirm one another.
– Be Patient.
– Learn All you Can, Together. Be a team!
– Sort out What is Really Important to Both of You and What is Not as Important. If you have only so much time, do the important things first.
– Celebrate Milestones!
– Laugh and Have Fun Together. Life may be difficult but having fun together “recreates” us.
– Respect One Another.
– Get Help When you Need it. Make it a primary goal to develop a support system.
– Find the Balance between Dependence and Independence.
Check out these additional resources on building a healthy relationships.