My son, I’ve talked with him very early on that his younger sisters’ first male relationship is with his father and him, so I hope he sets the bar high. Now that he’s older, I notice myself parenting him not as my son but as someone’s husband and a supportive adult brother to his sisters. For my girls, it’s more modeling – having a strong voice in my marriage, advocating for what I think is important even if it’s not so much for my husband and protecting time to foster a healthy marriage. For all kids, we’ve not shied away from arguing in front of them. We just make sure it’s respectful and when the argument is resolved, they see that. They see that their father and I have respectively fought for what we thought was right, but that it’s over now. There’s so much more to learn, especially when things happen to them in real time, but I truly hope we’ve provided some kind of foundation to teach them what healthy relationships look like and what their role is in one.

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