Celebration doesn’t end at Father’s Day. How to support your husband in 5 ways

These are small ways you can support your husband.

It’s a compliment to say they bring out the best in each other. Well, you and your husband can be that kind of couple, and it all starts with support.

This Father’s Day, Studio 5 Parenting Contributor Heather Johnson wants you to not only celebrate the men in your life, but find ways to support them.

The Common Roadblocks

Heather identified some common roadblocks that prevent us from fully supporting our dads, our brothers, or our husbands. “Anytime we’re worried about us, it makes it really hard for us to support our spouse. Anytime we are in a relationship where we’re focused on being seen instead of seeing them, it makes it really hard. When I’m fighting to be understood, it’s going to make it really hard for me to understand.”

To Fully Support Your Husband…

1. Follow the “Platinum Rule”: “We’re going to treat other people the way they want to be treated instead of the way we want to be treated,” Heather said, “When we’re fully supporting our husbands, we come to know them well enough to know how they would like to be treated.”
2. Take interest in his interests: “We want to take interest in what they’re interested in because we care about them. We can do that in our own realm,” Heather said. Maybe you’re not playing golf, but you’re driving the golf cart.
3. Take his advice: Heather said men connect through action, giving advice, and solving problems. “We often get pretty upset, offended, even resentful when our husbands give us advice or when they provide solutions,” Heather said, “We hear it as, ‘you’re not listening to me.’ When we could take a step back and think, ‘wait a second, they’re offering us a solution.’” Heather wants you to view their advice as their attempt to be helpful.
4. Give generous interpretations: Heather wants you to “always assume they’re doing the best they know how.”
5. Brag don’t nag: Heather said, “We want to make sure we’re bragging about them in good ways instead of nagging to other people about the ways they fall short.”

To contact Heather for counseling, email blog.familyvolley@gmail.com, or visit www.familyvolley.blogspot.com.