The nagging question remained,” writes Teri Celtina in CNN’s Living Personal, “How could we nurture our
marriage — the relationship that created these beautiful children to begin with — and still manage to be good parents? It often felt like an impossible balancing act. My husband, Greg, and I sure felt a big shift,” she explains. Like most new parents, Teri and Greg were engrossed in taking care of their children’s everyday needs. Finding time to feed, bathe, and play with them between two work schedules was challenging enough. “Hanging out as a couple wasn’t even on the to-do list,” she recalls.
Many couples do exactly what the Celtinas did, says Carol Lindquist, Ph.D., author of “Happily Married with Kids: It’s Not Just a Fairy Tale”, giving plenty of attention to the children and not nearly enough to each other. The irony, Lindquist says, is that a strong relationship with your partner is one of the best things you can do for your kids.
Here on the Mind Tripping team, we know. In fact, a very special bonding between husbands and wives seems to be a natural outcome of sharing laughter and surprise away from the kids.
But just exactly how can you keep a focus on your marriage when most of your time and energy is devoted to your kids? “Try to treat your relationship with your partner as the one that’s most important in your life — even more than the one with your children,” advises family psychologist John Rosemond.
Christian & Katalina, stars of the nation’s #1 husband & wife comedy mind reading show, understand the marriage/kids dynamic only too well. As parents – and everyone at the show – participate in the intimate and interactive Mind Tripping process, their perceptions of the world – and of each other – are challenged and refreshed.
“Couple time tends to become family time. You’re always together, but no longer alone,” as Pam Stock describes it in Parents.com. This is why parents need time specifically set aside for being a couple.
A date night is an opportunity to communicate, and this communication may help couples deepen their understanding of one another and the relationship. W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, says date nights are most beneficial when they focus on fun and engaging activities, allowing a couple “to enjoy time with one another apart from the pressing concerns of their ordinary life.”
Nothing could be further from ordinary life than a Mind Tripping show, many of our happy couple attendees report!
– By Opti of the Mind Tripping Show blog team