Effective Mother-to-Father Communication

Do you feel like a proverbial ship passing your spouse in the middle of the night? Have you two had five minutes of conversation lately without one interruption or another? Have you encountered some storms in the process—unexpected wind and waves, lack of fresh water and reinforcements, or an unanticipated sandbar? Take heart: effective parent-to-parent communication is the lighthouse you've been looking for! It will help you successfully navigate through life's roughest—and smoothest—days.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of the bestselling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, claims, "communication is the most important skill in life." And intuitively we know this to be true. Yet many of us wander into marriage without possessing the foggiest idea of how to sail through its waters. Enter baby: the ocean swells. Baby grows: the waves crash against the shoreline. Your kids turn into teens: well, the tidal waves are just too big to even warrant discussion here!

But let's face it, marriage and family require personal interaction and interpersonal communication skills par excellence. None of us are interested in barely functioning as husband and wife, or as parents. We're interested in forming marriages and families of excellence. And that requires advance planning.