Surefire Ways to Help Your Spouse Break Bad Habits

If your mate’s bad habits drive you up the wall, don’t suffer in silence. You can do something about it!

That’s the word Dr. Jack Leedy, consulting psychiatrist at Brooklyn’s LutheranMedicalCenter.

Here are his seven tips to help spouses break those annoying bad habits.

1. Be Honest

If something your mate does habitually get you hot under the collar, say so! If your husband leaves his dirty clothes lying around for you to pick up, for example, let him know he’s hurting your feelings by treating you like a hired hand instead of his beloved wife

2. Be Subtle

Compare your loved one to somebody whose same bad habit is worse. For example: If your wife is letting her weight gets out of hand say: I’m glad you’re not as fat as Mrs. Jones." That way you’re telling her she’s getting chubby without saying it directly.

3. Make a deal

Offer to stop doing something that you know annoys your partner---if he or she will also stop doing whatever it is that’s getting under your skin.

If your hubby annoys you by being sloppy, and you know that the weight you’ve gained annoys him, promise you’ll go on diet if he’ll try to keep the house neater.

4. Recall Happier Times

If your husband spends his weekends watching TV, say something like: "Remember when we used to have so much fun going for long walks on Sundays? Why did we ever stop doing that? It was healthy for us both and it meant so much to me."

5. Be supportive

Help your mate break a bad habit by giving him or her psychological support. If you want your husband to lose weight, diet when he diets.

6. Impose Fines

Every time your spouse does the thing that annoys you, make him or her put agreed amount in the jar. When it has accumulated a certain amount in the jar, take it and spend it on yourself.

7. Reward good behavior

Give your mate something special he or she likes a reward for trying to break a bad habit. If he picks up after himself, fix his favorite dish for dinner.