Jenni Trent Hughes is well known as a straight talking agony aunt, who specialises in relationships and family issues. Jenni is a regular panellist on Radio Five Live's Late Night Live, but is most widely known for her appearances as a social commentator on Big Brother's Little Brother. She also makes regular appearances on This Morning, Loose Women, GMTV and LK Today, and is an author and magazine columnist.
Jenni's currently working with Sure Maximum Protection Deodorant and says: "As a major sweat-er myself I know just how important a role protection can play in how confident you feel. Lack of confidence usually occurs because we are so busy worrying about what could possibly go wrong that we don't have the energy to focus on what needs to go right. Anything that can help us 'avert disaster' is a plus for our confidence."
These are Jenni's top tips for creating family harmony:
COPING WITH TODDLERS:
1. Take it slow – keep it simple. Try to imagine that you've been dropped in a foreign land and you can't speak the language.........that's what life is like for a toddler. They know what they want to do, and how and when they want to do it – but they don't know how to get their point across.
Put that together with the fact that you are the one thing standing in the way of them getting their own way and you see the problem.
2. Focus on your child while communicating with them. It is hard enough for them to understand why you won't let them stick their ice-cream in the DVD machine. Stop what you're doing and focus on the situation in as calm a fashion as possible.
Don't worry about what the people in the supermarket think of your screaming toddler; it is your child's happiness and well-being that is important.
COPING WITH YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW:
1. Be patient. You'll probably be a mother-in-law someday and then you'll understand why she is making you jump through hoops. Her son is her pride and joy and she just wants to feel that you're up to the job.
2. Ignore all the mother-in-law jokes and comments. Nothing will make your life easier than a good relationship with your mother-in-law. It isn't a battle for ownership of the man in question. Let her know how much you care for her son and his happiness and usually that will do the trick.
If she is argumentative then just agree with everything that she says and then go home and do what you feel is best. This will become especially important when you give birth to her grandchildren.
KEEPING THE ROMANCE ALIVE:
1. Romance is about you and your partner not you and the rest of the world. Once you can get your head around that fact it becomes much easier to keep the romance alive. Know what your partner likes and enjoys.
Always remember the special things about your own relationship. Romance isn't what the sales girl tells you is romantic, or what happened in the latest movie. Romance is the little things that happen between the two of you that probably won't mean anything to the rest of the world but mean everything to you.
2. Make the effort. It's not about spending the money; it's about acknowledging your partner. Making sure they know how much they mean to you and how central your relationship as a couple is to your happiness.
Don't assume that the other person knows how much you love them, or how much you fancy them or how important they are to you. Tell them, show them, and make sure they know.