empathy
Morning Sickness: Making Him Understand Your Pain
Morning Sickness is a lot like back pain. If you've never experienced it you'll never appreciate how debilitating it can be. Do men understand morning sickness? No. Do men under estimate how bad it can be? Yes. How can you get your man to be more supportive and sympathetic toward your morning sickness?
Empathic Kids
An important point to remember is that while our kids are born with the potential for empathy and generosity, those traits aren't guaranteed.
Mothers Shouldn't Try For Perfection
A perfect mom creates an impossible ideal. An imperfectly perfect mom helps her daughter learn to face the challenges and disappointments of life, which inevitably happen. In spite of your imperfection, if you are empathic, responsive, and respect boundaries, a lifelong close relationship with your daughter is probable.
Guys, Empathy and the First Trimester
QUESTION
We are nine weeks pregnant and I feel like @#$#@. My husband doesn't get it. His attitude is that since I don't "look" pregnant then I shouldn't be complaining.
I'll be honest. Right now I AM a grouch after feeling exhausted, nauseous 24/7, and then trying to juggle my normal routine (at work and home.)
I don't expect him to make it better but can't a guy have SOME sympathy?
Grouchy in Maryland
Avoiding Barriers
Do you create any of the following barriers regularly with someone you love? Do you believe that if you worked at it you could use them less often? Let's look at an example as a means of understanding the barriers and builders.
Discipline with Kindness and Firmness
So, is there any hope? How can we learn to be kind and firm at the same time? The first thing that will help is to become more aware of our "hook level." When we recognize that we are becoming hooked we can take a deep breath and back off (emotionally, if not physically).
Speaking from Your Heart
There are natural concerns about really saying what's on your mind, what's in your heart. Sometimes, it's appropriate to be careful, like with someone who's vulnerable, or to stay out of a rage, or if there is any whiff of possible partner abuse.
Empathy: A Key Relationship Skill
Fundamentally, empathy is a skill, like any other, and you can get better at it. And much the same, you can ask your partner to get better at it, too! Plus, getting better at empathy will only help a person become a better parent.
Managing Emotions
My wife and I get along great except I just don't know how to handle it when she comes to me to complain about a situation at work, or when she is emotional over something. I try to help her but no matter what I do, I just seem to make it worse.
Asking for Empathy
All of us could probably get better at empathy, but men in particular tend to be raised in our society to focus on facts and solutions rather than feelings and relationships. If approached with respect (and some empathy as well), many fathers welcome a gentle suggestion about what to actually do in order to be more empathic.
Morning Sickness: Making Him Understand Your Pain
Morning Sickness is a lot like back pain. If you've never experienced it you'll never appreciate how debilitating it can be. Do men understand morning sickness? No. Do men under estimate how bad it can be? Yes. How can you get your man to be more supportive and sympathetic toward your morning sickness?
Empathy: A Key Relationship Skill
Fundamentally, empathy is a skill, like any other, and you can get better at it. And much the same, you can ask your partner to get better at it, too! Plus, getting better at empathy will only help a person become a better parent.
Speaking from Your Heart
There are natural concerns about really saying what's on your mind, what's in your heart. Sometimes, it's appropriate to be careful, like with someone who's vulnerable, or to stay out of a rage, or if there is any whiff of possible partner abuse.
Asking for Empathy
All of us could probably get better at empathy, but men in particular tend to be raised in our society to focus on facts and solutions rather than feelings and relationships. If approached with respect (and some empathy as well), many fathers welcome a gentle suggestion about what to actually do in order to be more empathic.
PUSH: No Candles
So on Thursday, I made Sarah a cake, put 30 candles on it, and sang to her in our kitchen. I'm the first to admit that it was a lousy cake, lumpy and too sweet. I think I forgot the baking soda. Sarah loved it.
Avoiding Barriers
Do you create any of the following barriers regularly with someone you love? Do you believe that if you worked at it you could use them less often? Let's look at an example as a means of understanding the barriers and builders.
Discipline with Kindness and Firmness
So, is there any hope? How can we learn to be kind and firm at the same time? The first thing that will help is to become more aware of our "hook level." When we recognize that we are becoming hooked we can take a deep breath and back off (emotionally, if not physically).
Managing Emotions
My wife and I get along great except I just don't know how to handle it when she comes to me to complain about a situation at work, or when she is emotional over something. I try to help her but no matter what I do, I just seem to make it worse.
Guys, Empathy and the First Trimester
QUESTION
We are nine weeks pregnant and I feel like @#$#@. My husband doesn't get it. His attitude is that since I don't "look" pregnant then I shouldn't be complaining.
I'll be honest. Right now I AM a grouch after feeling exhausted, nauseous 24/7, and then trying to juggle my normal routine (at work and home.)
I don't expect him to make it better but can't a guy have SOME sympathy?
Grouchy in Maryland
Mothers Shouldn't Try For Perfection
A perfect mom creates an impossible ideal. An imperfectly perfect mom helps her daughter learn to face the challenges and disappointments of life, which inevitably happen. In spite of your imperfection, if you are empathic, responsive, and respect boundaries, a lifelong close relationship with your daughter is probable.
- Asking for Empathy
- Avoiding Barriers
- Discipline with Kindness and Firmness
- Empathic Kids
- Empathy: A Key Relationship Skill
- Guys, Empathy and the First Trimester
- Managing Emotions
- Morning Sickness: Making Him Understand Your Pain
- Mothers Shouldn't Try For Perfection
- PUSH: No Candles
- Speaking from Your Heart
