We’re often told that kids should take priority over everything else.
In fact, career, relationship and personal goals tend to take a backseat for devoted parents looking to give their children the best start in life.
However Married at First Sight’s relationship expert John Aiken, has claimed this shouldn’t actually be the case.
The trained psychologist recommends that partners prioritise their partners rather than their children, in order to maintain a happy family.
Lifestyle blogger Jules Sebastian interviews Aiken for her YouTube series, and he explained that a happy relationship will have a general positive affect on the rest of the family.
“Kids catch stress. So if a couple is really good, strong and chilled, their kids are chilled,” he told Jules.
“Whereas when we are not connecting, when we are resenting each other… then the kids are going to pick up on that and they’re going to play up.”
Aiken admits that he uses this tactic himself, when it comes to juggling his relationship health and parenting needs.
“I think if you get the relationship right, the kids will fall into line.”
Other useful tips the clinical psychologist gave away, included the importance of regular sex (“once a week is the sweet spot”) and little things like greeting and leaving each other with a kiss.
“At the end of every day, do a debrief and ask your partner how their day was. It builds that sense of a real team,” he said.
