Building Healthy Relationship Skills
Can building healthy relationship skills help improve parent-child relationships? In this episode of Superpower Mommas, host Tatiana Berindei sits with guest Lauren Reitsem. She is the author of two books: In Their Shoes, a book dedicated to helping parents better understand and connect with children of divorce, and Relationship Essentials, Skills to Feel Heard, Fight Fair, and Set Boundaries in All Areas of Life. Lauren recognizes relationships are one of life’s most important assets and energizes a room to prioritize the people in their lives. She and her husband, Josh, love adventures with their three children. Tatiana and Lauren emphasize that there is a healthy way to fight. Parents need to use relationship skill building with their children. It is one way to value another human being truly. Tune in to know the importance of building healthy relationship skills within your home.
Tatiana Berindei:
Hello everyone and welcome to the Superpower Momma’s Podcast show. I’m your host Tatiana Berindei and today our guest is Lauren Reitsema. We’re going to be talking about building healthy relationship skills, which every person on the planet needs, so I’m really happy that she’s here to talk to us about this today.
Let me tell you a little bit more about Lauren before we dive into our conversation. Lauren’s interest in relationship skills began when her parents divorced after almost 20 years of marriage. Seeking to understand better patterns for her own future legacy, she earned a bachelor’s in communication from TCU. Lauren is the author of two books, In Their Shoes, a book dedicated to helping parents better understand and connect with children of divorce, and Relationship Essentials: Skills to Feel Heard, Fight Fair, and Set Boundaries in All Areas of Life. Her vocational speaking experience spans over 15 years, teaching a variety of relationship skills to teens, adults, and corporate teams. Lauren recognizes relationships are one of life’s most important assets and energizes a room to prioritize the people in their lives. She and her husband, Josh, love adventures with their three children, all Colorado natives. They’re avid skiers, outdoor enthusiasts, and Broncos fans, and we’re excited to welcome you to the show today, Lauren.
Lauren Reitsema:
I’m so excited to be here. Thanks for having me.
Tatiana Berindei:
So before we dive in, I love to ask people about their superpowers and I’m curious with you in particular, what your superpowers are in the world of relationship building?
Lauren Reitsema:
I’ve been told objectively by outsiders, and I would hope to believe it for myself, I would say I’d answer that question with the word intention. I feel like with all that we juggle and all that we have to accomplish, there’s just a focus of intention and presence with people, right, when you’re there, that can really be a game-changer. I don’t know if it’s a superpower or an intentional gift, but intentionality would be my superpower as a mama.
Tatiana Berindei:
I love that because it takes a pause and it takes preemptive awareness in order to have intention. I think a lot of people and we’ll dive deeper into this after the break but I think a lot of the problems that we see in relationships today is a lack of presence and intention brings presence because in order to have intention, you have to, as I said, you have to be aware ahead of time of what the interaction is all about. Right?
Lauren Reitsema:
Exactly. I think intentional thought and intentional action can be transformative in so many ways and it doesn’t take that much more effort. I think that’s what’s so great is it’s more of a focus and posturing than it is a skill and I think it can be a game-changer.
Tatiana Berindei:
Yeah, totally. Well, we are going to talk all about that and why it’s important, and why relationship skill-building is important as a parent. I think often we can sort of take some of those relationships with our children for granted, or just sort of thing that we’re supposed to know how to do, so I’m really excited to have you here today. Lauren also authored a book with her mother and so we can talk a little bit more about that dynamic too, but before we dive into the juice, we’re going to go to a quick break because I don’t like to cut off the flow. But before we go to break, Lauren, will you tell our listeners where they can go to find out more about you and your work and your books?
Lauren Reitsema:
You can certainly find us on our company website, myrelationshipcenter.org, and there you’ll find my email and our staff connections and all the things that you need to know about relationship skill-building. If you’re interested in the book directly, you can find it on Amazon and just search Relationship Essentials.
Tatiana Berindei:
Awesome. So we are talking with Lauren Reitsema. Today is about building healthy relationship skills, and we’re going to dive into a really good conversation when we get by, so don’t go anywhere, stay tuned.
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