How to turn your spouse into a partner

Samantha Ettus, MBA, Lifestyle Expert For Working Moms, discusses how to have a better division of labor in a marriage and offers tips on improving communication with your spouse
Working Mom Tips - How To Turn Your Spouse Into A Partner
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How to turn your spouse into a partner

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To be a successful working mom, it's very important that you turn your spouse into a partner. And what I mean by that is that really expecting that he will do 50% of the child care and the house care. And it's really important because if you're working full time and he is working full time and you are coming home and doing 90% of the house work and the child care, you're going to end up bitter and exhausted. And so, you need a partner who really believes in your career and is going to support you in every way possible and that means you're building yoru family together. And so, on Sunday nights, I recommend having family planning meetings where you're mapping every detail of the week. You're sharing with each other when you have night time business meetings or commitments. And who's doing which pick up and what the deal with the baby sitter is and lunch boxes. Every single detail of the week is being mapped out on Sunday night so that you're both on the same page all week. Now of-course there's going to be changes but that means that you're better prepared to deal with them because you're starting out the week a little bit more in control. The other thing I'd like to tell women, is get your spouse involved in the very beginning. When you're pregnant, make sure your spouse is coming to doctor's appointments. From the very beginning, when your baby is born, I always like to say, have an excuse, make up some reason that you have to leave your spouse with the baby alone for a few hours so that he or she gets really comfortable taking on the baby care duties, as-well. Because a lot of it comes from fear, if they don't start out doing it they're not going to suddenly wake up in six months and be able to care for a baby. And then lastly, I always like to say that you really have to nurture your marriage because if you are not nurturing your marriage, there is less motivation for your spouse to be a good partner. And so, that means spending time alone with your spouse and really having high expectations of him or her. Because, if you have low expectations people tend to meet what our expectations are. And so, Just like you'd never say in front of a child, "My child would never eat broccoli." Because then he never will. You never want to say, "My husband would never change a diaper" Because then he never will.

Samantha Ettus, MBA, Lifestyle Expert For Working Moms, discusses how to have a better division of labor in a marriage and offers tips on improving communication with your spouse

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Expert Bio

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Samantha Ettus, MBA

Lifestyle Expert for Working Moms

Sam is the leading lifestyle and parenting expert for working women. Since earning her undergraduate and MBA degrees from Harvard, Sam has coached thousands of women - celebrities, entrepreneurs, top CEO's and professional athletes - who aim to perform at the highest levels in both their professional and personal lives.

Sam is a bestselling author of four Random House books and a Contributor to Forbes and Disney’s parenting site, Babble. She hosts a nationally syndicated radio show for working moms and the Conference for Women’s monthly radio show, “Office Hours.”

Sam hosted leading online talk show, Obsessed TV and is known for her interviewing skills. She has interviewed countless luminaries from Al Roker to Bethenny Frankel and Mary J. Blige. Sam has made hundreds of local and national TV appearances and is a sought after speaker at corporations, conferences and colleges.

Sam aims to practice what she preaches in her daily life as a mother of three and wife of entrepreneur, Mitch Jacobs. 

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