Tag: boundaries

Children can be reflective of you, but they are not you. Their choices will be different from those you would make, as it should be. The paths they are destined to walk are different from your own. As parents, we may instinctively want to shield them from making the mistakes we made. However, we might discover that in our attempts to do so, sometimes our children overreact to that guidance (no matter how well intentioned it may be) and end up doing something worse.

The lively, bustling holiday season often brings up questions about "how to set healthy boundaries" with family and friends. These questions—and the answers to them—are so important, because solid personal boundaries can create the greatest of holidays. The tips and tools offered below will help you add a lasting glow to your holiday gatherings. As an added benefit, the concepts can also be used to improve interactions with family, friends, and co-workers throughout the year!

Your marriage is sacred. It's something you will spend the rest of your lives working on to ensure that it is strong, healthy, and lasts the rest of your life. So why not start protecting it now by setting healthy boundaries to help strengthen your marriage?

When you think of the word "boundaries" you may feel like you are putting restrictions on you and your spouse, but there is nothing negative about setting some guidelines for your relationship if their goal is to make your marriage stronger. These are five healthy boundaries to provide the framework for a healthy marriage.

If someone close to you asked you to describe your ideal sexual experience, what kind of encounter would you describe? How would it begin? What would be involved? Where would it take place? Most importantly, how would it feel?

For some, the answers to these questions may be easy to articulate. For others, not so much. Being able to voice our deepest personal needs and desires is not always an easy thing to do—especially when it comes to sex. Most will agree though, that identifying and expressing exactly what we want (and don’t want) in a sexual relationship with an intimate partner is crucial in establishing a healthy and fulfilling sex life—namely one characterized by consent and equal pleasure.

I hate to scare you parents, but this is the ultimate job of a lifetime. This is your chance to make an impact, a difference in the world, all while creating a unique and special bond for eternity.

A child is so much more than the sweet helpless one-year old you swaddle in your arms, with those gorgeous doe eyes that gaze up into yours for security, love and guidance. This is a beautiful soul, that’s watching and listening to the person he or she trusts the most, you!

The set of problems a newly married couple faces are much different than those of a couple celebrating a 10-year anniversary. Newlyweds are creating the rules, boundaries and roles that will define their life together—styles of communication are beginning to form. When a young couple enters my office, it is because something is happening that worries them. There are sources of conflict that they cannot resolve. Arguments occur that go nowhere and leave the couple with feelings of confusion and helplessness.

In the language of human relationships, "setting limits" means letting people know what is acceptable to you and what is not. This doesn’t just apply to serious matters, like domestic violence or breaking one’s vows—limits for small things are important as well.

Setting limits is an expression of your human value, of your self worth, in matters small and large. By setting limits you say: "I am a worthy person. I deserve to be treated in a way that feels good to me."