Communication Is Key by Benedictine University blogger Karly Sacco

Coming from someone that is in a committed relationship, I understand and relate completely with the fact that communication is essential. We as human beings need to communicate with our partners in order to maintain a long-lasting, healthy connection. 

The list is endless as to why communication is key when it comes to loving your significant other, but let’s just name a few of the really important reasons.

-Respect-

I know you’re thinking it, Aretha Franklin was right when she sang about it. Respect is the number one element within a relationship. I am not just talking about respecting your partner, but most importantly I am referring to self-respect. There is no way you can respect other people if you cannot truly believe in yourself and know your limits. When you and your partner are being sexual, make sure that you remember to respect yourself before you do something you don’t want to do. If you show your partner that you care about your body and you respect yourself to a certain extent then the respect will become mutual and you will define a certain level of understating each other’s needs and desires. Communication doesn’t always have to be spoken; you can show your partner ways to respect you through your actions and emotions.

-No More Misunderstandings-

How many times have you gotten into an argument with someone because they thought you meant something completely different than what you would trying to communicate to them? If you and your partner have a clear understanding and are open with one another about everything in your lives, than there will be no more misunderstandings.Truly let them know how you are feeling, and the odds are there won’t be a misunderstanding and the problem can be resolved rationally.

-Fighting Is Kept to a Minimum- 

The last but most defiantly not the least important point I am going to touch on is that communication between couples can keep their fighting to a minimal. Obviously every couple fights because of their own personal reasons that make each other mad, but communicating can help reduce the amount of fighting that happens on a daily basis. Tension builds in a household when a couple are mad at each other, but they don’t talk about it. They just let the issue linger on until they both can’t hold it in anymore and blow up over something so stupid that could have been fixed a week ago with a little bit of communication.

When Love Gets In The Way by blogger Karly - Benedictine University

A situation becomes a lot more difficult when the victim of sexual assaults is in a relationship with the person that is assaulting them. The emotional attachment that the couple shares has the power to overcome the fact that their relationship is extremely unhealthy. It would be different if the person that was abusing the victim was not “in love “ with them, but when you add love into the mix it can become messy. We have to take these factors into consideration when addressing sexual assault prevention to the assailant that is dating the victim. Since the assailant is in a relationship with the victim it would be appropriate to have them take part in the same prevention program.

I can see why this could cause a few issues. The victim might be scared to even be in the same room as their attacker when discussing the events that has gone on in their relationship. So it might be easier to calmly sit down with them individually and figure out their separate stories. Don’t accuse either of them of anything. Just listen to their story to figure out if there is any deeper meaning as to why the abuse is occurring. Then once there is somewhat of an understanding, sit them together and have them talk about their problems in a healthy way.

For some reason it is so hard for me to express how I feel about this topic. I thought it would be easy to just rant on about how awful it would be to suffer in a relationship where sexual abuse is present. But all that keeps coming to my mind is that there is no excuse for abuse. It is just unnecessary and sickening. I am fortunate to be in a loving relationship with someone that I trust and know will never turn on me this way. I am no doctor. I cannot prescribe medication to someone that is suffering with abuse. I am here to express what I think can be done to prevent these acts from occurring in the future.

This subject is far from easy to talk about, but unfortunately it happens so we must find a way to help those in need. You never know what a person is going through. I am not defending the assailant in this case, but they could have a really messed up past. They might have not always been this way with their partner. They could have been a very loving person, and something small could have triggered the insanity and caused them to sexually abuse their partner. Like I said, you never know a persons full story by just looking at them. It is hard to share what I would do in this situation because when you truly love someone, it makes it that much harder to leave him or her when something like this happens. You believe they will change back into the person you remember. We need to start by listening to a person’s story, and then take it from there. I am no expert, but I know that it feels good to vent.

               

Parental support during transition can be a constructive phase in child’s life- by blogger Snehal Gajare

Transitions have been a part and parcel of our lives. There is simply no way out. Transitions however, could be pleasing for some while heart wrecking for the rest.  But the element of “change” is the only ‘constant’ aspect of all the transitions. One such transitional phase can occur when kids grow up and leave their nests to study in colleges. This is when this serene parent - child relationship is forced to stand the test of time. Both, the parents and their children undergo an emotional turmoil; a feeling of independence, autonomy, the pain of children drifting away coupled with excitement of an achievement that the children are ready for experiencing the college life.

Communication:

Communication is an extremely powerful tool.  An open discussion pertaining to the concerns and the fears of your child can do wonders. When parents express their attitude and explain their reasoning, you automatically provide knowledge, confidence, inspiration and assurance to your children. This helps them in taking their own respective decisions thus accelerating the process of seeking answers to the questions they may actually have.

Here are a few tips for parents of college students:

1.     Ensure that the lines of communication are open. Your child is no longer a kid. He/She is an adult now.

2.     You as a parent are bound to be concerned about the safety of your child in the college. So it is always important that you initiate a conversation with him/her before joining the college and after a few months of joining the college. You can always introduce the topic with the help of news stories and current events.

3.     You can always have a discussion on the qualities that are required for a healthy relation to flourish. For instance: Trust, safety and mutual respect.

4.     As a parent you should acknowledge the choices of your students (children) pertaining to their responsibilities. Have a frank conversation about consequences of excessive drinking, drugs, abuse to lower the risk of alcohol consumptions and drugs.

5.     This is when you can even highlight about the qualities that one should never possess and those that can be destructive and harmful for others. For instance: violence, sexual assaults, bullying, vandalism etc.

6.     Appreciation and emotional support is an integral part of parenting. But ensure that at the same time the student’s (child’s) independence and privacy is also retained.

7.     As responsible parents you can always stay connected with your children through mails. Enquire about their attendance, academics, room-mates, professors and friends. Encourage them to actively participate in the campus events.

8.     Keep an eye on 'signals' of unusual behaviour from your student. Remember sensing an unusual behaviour early can aid you in arranging for the necessary help for your student (child).

9.     Finally, patience, support and open communication are the keys to develop a healthy relation with your children. 

    With proper efforts you can imbibe good values in your students (children) and open the doors of communication with them for a lifetime.