Marriages are two-way streets, and this means that men need to respect women and vice versa. Marriage takes two people to make it work.
It takes a good husband and wife team to form a healthy marriage that will last for years. The “Mend the Marriage” program a great self-help marriage counseling system worth checking out.
When it comes to being a good wife, this is not the 1950s, and we aren’t about to tell women to clean the kitchen, cook a big dinner, and keep the house clean.
Being a good wife is not about being a slave around the house. Those days are long gone!
That said, you want to make your husband happy.
Maybe you saw your mother, family, or friends acting poorly to their husbands, or perhaps you haven’t been the best wife up until now. Either way, as you are about to see, you can do things to be a better wife.
How to Be a Better Wife
1. Give Him Some Space
If you are a stay-at-home mom, when your husband comes home from work, you might be tempted to immediately go to him when he comes home.
You haven’t seen him all day, and you are genuinely excited to talk to him, to find out how his day was, what he did, if he is feeling ok.
However, for men, this can sometimes feel a bit suffocating. After 8 or 10 hours of work, some men just want to come home to a few minutes of peace and silence, needing a few minutes to relax and decompress after a long day of work.
So, if your husband comes home from work and immediately sits down to watch some TV or just wants a minute to relax, give him his space.
Once your husband has had a few minutes to decompress, you can go to him and find out how his day was.
Just because your husband doesn’t immediately want to engage in serious conversation the second he steps in the door doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. It’s just the way most men are wired.
2. Send Some Compliments His Way
Something that often happens as marriages progress is that spouses often stop complimenting each other.
Do you remember how good it felt when your husband told you how nice your new hairstyle looked, or how fabulous that new dress fit your body? Well, it’s no different for men.
Although men don’t often talk about their feelings, and although they are ‘supposed to be’ stoic males that don’t get hurt by anything, we all know that this is not the case.
Men like to be complimented just as much as women do, and although they may not show it, it is essential to them.
To be a better wife, it’s not like you have to go to the ends of the earth. A few small compliments go a long way in making him feel better and making him feel worthwhile.
We all like to hear how good we look and how good of a job we are doing.
3. Put the Phone Down
We live in a very different world than the world of 20 or 30 years ago. We all have smartphones, and many of us are seriously addicted to them. It really is an addiction; it can be tough to put the phone down. We have come to rely on them for the smallest things.
We have developed a need to be connected to the outside world to see what is going on.
If your husband is trying to talk to you or comes home from work and wants to spend some time with you, but you’re more involved in social media, he will not feel appreciated.
There is plenty of time to spend on your phone checking what your friends are up to. When it is time to be with your husband, put the phone down, and pay attention to him.
There is nothing more annoying for a man than taking the time and effort to be with his wife, only to sit there and take a backseat to Instagram. No man wants to play second fiddle to his wife’s phone.
4. Support His Goals
Many wives seem to lose interest in their husbands’ goals as time goes by. Often, men come up with ideas, projects, or plans they would like to achieve, only to have the wife shoot it down.
Ladies, we realize that some of your man’s ideas might have maybe a little out there. Yes, men can have some weird ideas at times. However, if it’s nothing that will directly impact your life negatively, there is no reason to shoot those goals down.
If it is a goal that you vehemently oppose, then you may want to say something, but other than that, it’s best just to be supportive.
Men may not tell you this, but they need your support just as much as you need theirs. They also want to feel like their goals and opinions matter. They like having someone standing with them no matter what.
5. Keep His Secrets
Men and women alike tend to be gossips. Not all of us are, but many. And no, it’s not just women who gossip and share juicy news and facts with their friends. Men do it too, although it is safe to assume probably not quite as much.
If your husband tells you something in confidence or does something that will embarrass him if others find out, don’t go running off to tell your friends.
What’s more important—sharing juicy news for a couple minutes of excitement or respecting your husband’s privacy and trust? After all, it all boils down to trust.
Your husband trusts you to keep his confidence, to keep his secrets, and to be there supporting him. If you gossip, you are doing the exact opposite of supporting, and your husband will feel that.
6. Initiate Contact
One thing that your husband will appreciate is if you initiate sex. More often than not, men are the ones to initiate sex in a marriage. Ladies, doesn’t it feel great when your husband is drooling all over you? Well, did you know that men like this too?
Of course, men like to feel wanted. Just like women, men want to feel attractive, and they want to know that someone really wants them.
It feels good when someone wants you. It feels good when others think you look good. Ladies, you don’t have to wait for your man to initiate sex in the bed. You can do it too, and believe us when we say that your man will appreciate it.
Conclusion
Although the list of tips we have provided you with here is not exhaustive, it is a good start. Often, being a better wife just comes down to listening and paying attention to what your partner needs from you.
It’s often the little things that really matter. For more advice on becoming a better wife and creating a healthier marriage, a program worth checking out is called “Mend the Marriage.”