TIPS AND TRICKS

Want to Be a Better Partner? Express Appreciation More Often
According to Jonathan Robinson, a couple’s therapist and author of More Love, Less Conflict: A Communication Playbook for Couples, “the number one correlation with happiness in couples is the number of appreciations they give to each other.” This shouldn’t be surprising, but it’s important to make it a part of your relationship. One of the best ways to go about this is to simply show and tell your partner that you appreciate them in varied ways. Send them a sweet text. Give them a proper, well-thought-out compliment. Or do whatever it is that is more “you”. The point is to make it clear to your partner that you appreciate all that they do and their efforts aren’t going unnoticed.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Help a Child Fall Asleep Faster.
“But I’m not tired!” Never have crueler words been spoken at bedtime. Sometimes your kid is just giving you a hard time, but other times they have real trouble falling asleep. No parent can tell the difference. This is why it’s important to keep to a regular nightly routine, and also to have a few tricks up your sleeve to help everyone get to sleep more quickly. One of the best, most effective last-resort techniques is progressive muscle relaxation. 

Therapists recommend progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) to both children and adults for stress relief and better sleep. Though it has a fancy name, PMR is easy to do. Tense targeted areas of the body, hold, then release. The idea is that when your body is relaxed, so is your mind.

The below script, published by the University of Washington, is designed specifically for young children. The instructions are fun and easy to follow and not too long that your kid will want to quit halfway through.

“Here comes a pesky old fly. He has landed on your nose. Try to get him off without using your hands. That’s right, wrinkle up your nose. Make as many wrinkles in your nose as you can. Scrunch your nose up real hard. Good. You’ve chased him away. Now you can relax your nose. Oops, here he comes back again. Repeat.”

Here’s some more to know about using progressive muscle relaxation to help kids sleep.