Family and Consumer Sciences

Live Smart Ohio

Ohio State University Extension

marriage

Making Every Day Sweet

While there might be an expectation of cards, gifts, or candy to be shared by romantic couples on Sweetest Day (third Saturday in October), this tiny bit of history reminds us to make it a celebration of kindness, time, and love. In the early 1920s, Herbert Birch Kingston worked at a candy company in Cleveland, […]

WRITTEN BY: Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension, Lucas County, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

REVIEWED BY: Caitlin Mathews-Smith, OSU Extension, Guernsey County, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • Pixabay

SOURCES:

  • Davoodvandi, M. Navabi Nejad, S. Farzad, V. (2018). Examining the Effectiveness of Gottman Couple Therapy on Improving Marital Adjustment and Couples' Intimacy. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry. 2018 Apr;13(2):135-141. PMID: 29997659; PMCID: PMC6037577.
  • Dollard, C., (2024). Invest in Your Relationship: The Emotional Bank Account, The Gottman Institute. https://www.gottman.com/blog/invest-relationship-emotional-bank-account/
  • How Sweet It Is: The History of Sweetest Day, Ohio Memory, A Collaborative Program of the Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio https://ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org/archives/5519
  • PAX Tools - Emotional Deposits, PAXIS Institute, https://youtu.be/I80VhmAT2fU
  • PAX Tools - Kudos Notes, PAXIS Institute, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE2iCC_xyVQ
  • PAX Tools, PAXIS Institute, https://www.paxis.org/community-based-programming/
  • Poulsen, S. (n.d.), Purdue Extension, A Fine Balance: The Magic Ratio to a Healthy Relationship. https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/cfs/cfs-744-w.pdf
  • Stanley, S., Kline Rhoades, G., Markman, H. (2006). Sliding Versus Deciding: Inertia and the Premarital Cohabitation Effect. Family Relations. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00418.x
  • Sweetest Day, Hallmark, https://corporate.hallmark.com/holidays-occasions/sweetest-day/

A Weddinggg

Have you ever dreamt about the joy, nay, the ecstasy of a blissful romantic wedding? You can all but smell the delicate rose petals, hand-strewn along the aisle that you and Mr. or Miss Right float down on your way to the altar. You dreamily gaze into your spouse’s eyes as you say, “I do.” […]

WRITTEN BY: Joseph Maiorano, PHD, Family and Consumer Sciences, Harrison County Ohio, maiorano.2@osu.edu

REVIEWED BY: Misty Harmon, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Perry County, harmon.416@osu.edu

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • https://pixabay.com/en/human-child-girl-face-in-thoughts-745078/

SOURCES:

  • https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2017/05/08/be-prepared-scout-motto-origin/
  • https://secure.caes.uga.edu/extension/publications/files/pdf/C%201052-09_1.PDF
  • https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-5196

REFERENCES:

  • Futris, T. & Richardson, E. 2013. Are We Compatible? University of Georgia. Downloaded on February 22, 2018 from: https://secure.caes.uga.edu/extension/publications/files/pdf/C%201052-09_1.PDF
  • Newby, K. 2010. After You say, “I Do”: Adjusting to Marriage. Ohio State University Extension. Downloaded on February 22, 2018 from: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/FLM-FS-2-01-R10
  • Wiley, A. R. 2007. Connecting as a couple: Communication skills for healthy relationships. The Forum for Family and Consumer Sciences, 12 (1). Downloaded on February 22, 2018 from: https://projects.ncsu.edu/ffci/publications/2007/v12-n1-2007-spring/wiley/fa-11-wiley.php
  • Spires, C. 2010. Resolving Conflict Constructively and Respectfully. Ohio State University Extension. Downloaded on February 26, 2018. https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-5196

Achieving a ‘Lifetime of Happiness’ in Marriage

It’s wedding season!  I love browsing the greeting card aisles, reading each to find the perfect wedding day expression for friends tying the knot. Most of the options – in some heartfelt way – include wishes for a lifetime of happiness. It’s a fitting wish for newlyweds, but how does it come true? There has […]

WRITTEN BY: Joanna Fifner, Extension Educator, Ohio State University Extension, fifner.2@osu.edu

REVIEWED BY: Jenny Lobb, Extension Educator, Ohio State University Extension, lobb.3@osu.edu

SOURCES:

  • http://news.rutgers.edu/research-news/wife%E2%80%99s-happiness-more-crucial-her-husband%E2%80%99s-keeping-marriage-track-rutgers-study-finds/20140911#.V3FyMY5nhDQ
  • http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/marriage.aspx
  • http://news.health.com/2016/02/17/this-is-the-secret-to-a-long-and-happy-marriage-according-to-research/
  • http://www.happify.com/hd/the-science-behind-a-happy-relationship/
  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17059309

REFERENCES:

  • http://www.happify.com/hd/the-science-behind-a-happy-relationship/

Building 21st Century Family Relationship Skills

  How should OSU Extension go about Strengthening Ohio Families and Communities? What are the relationship skills needed to nurture Ohio’s families into the future.   Let me refer back to an earlier post Parenting Today = Tomorrow’s Leaders to guide us in this exploration.  This past post tackled the question of what parenting strategies to […]

WRITTEN BY: Margaret Jenkins, FCS Extension Educator, Clermont County

REVIEWED BY: Shawna Hite, FCS, Healthy People Program Specialist; James Bates, Field Specialist, Family Wellness, OSU Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences

SOURCES:

  • https://livesmartohio.osu.edu/family-and-relationships/jenkins-188osu-edu/parenting-today-tomorrows-leaders/
  • http://extension.osu.edu/about/conversations-future-osu-extension
  • http://extension.osu.edu/about/conversations-future-extension/forecasting-ohio-2035

REFERENCES:

  • http://extension.osu.edu/sites/ext/files/imce/About_docs/Future_Conversations/17%20trends-social_skills_competencies_and_relationships_across_community_and_family_environments.pdf

A Tale of Love and Money

I can remember being a little girl, sitting absolutely still and listening with an open heart to stories of how people meet, fall in love, and live happily ever after.  Really, it’s beautiful.  But I’m here to ask why no one ever feels compelled to also mention that dating can be pretty financially draining.  And […]

WRITTEN BY: Amanda Woods, M.Ed. Healthy Finances Program Specialist, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension

REVIEWED BY: Carmen Irving, M.A., CFLE, CYC-P, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Union County

Read This If You’re In Love.

We all want the same thing, whether our relationship has just begun or we’ve been married for years: We want a healthy, mutually-satisfying relationship with the one we love. (Better Marriages) We know from research and others’ example that this does not happen by chance; loving one’s partner is a choice. In order to last […]

REVIEWED BY: Kathy Green, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

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