NO SEX PLEASE, WE’RE PARENTSHow your relationship can survive children and what to do if it doesn’t
by MELANIE ROBERTS-FRASER & OLIVER ROBERTS
rrp: $29.95 paperback; ISBN 978 0 7333 1876 2
Becoming a parent is a life-changing experience, and like all major changes parenthood can also be a major source of strain. Studies show that four out of five relationships are negatively affected by the demanding first year of a child’s life and one in five parents will split by the time their children are school-age.
No Sex Please, We’re Parents, based on extensive interviews with mums and dads, offers practical advice to help stressed out couples get some normality back into their lives and restore their relationship. Authors Melanie Roberts-Fraser, a family-law lecturer, and her brother Oliver Roberts, a counsellor, journalist and media advisor, give a unique insight into both the female and male point of view. They offer loads of tips which will help both sexes to enjoy the great bits about parenthood, brace for the bad and have the energy to maintain their life together as a couple, including a sex life. They also offer commonsense advice on how to do what is best for the children if the relationship can’t be mended.
Some of the topics covered in No Sex Please, We’re Parents include:
- What couples need to talk about before the baby’s born
- The juggler vs the full-time mum
- How to continue communicating effectively even when you’re both exhausted
- How to share the work-load of raising the kids and household chores
- The importance of support networks and finding time to spend alone as a couple and alone as individuals
- The effect of parenthood on body image and libido and how parents can get sex back on the menu
- Post-natal depression for both Mums and Dads and what couples can do to overcome it
- Understanding each other’s pressures and the prejudices many Dads face against family-friendly working
- When getting there has been a struggle ie IVF, miscarriage and adoption
- And how to handle separation, including a whole chapter on the laws relating to divorce
About The Authors
Melanie Roberts-Fraser is a family lawyer, qualified in New Zealand, England and Wales and now based in Sydney. Her brother and co-author Oliver Roberts is an award-winning journalist based in London working in public relations. Melanie is the mother of a young son and Oliver is the father of a new-born daughter.
Melanie says ‘Oliver and I argued loads while writing the book – from why it is that mothers often feel anger and resentment to whether men actually have lunch hours! We only started to properly agree once we really started to understand what it’s like for each other. And that’s what I hope this book will do – help couples overcome problems and resentments or, even better, stop anger building up in the first place.’
Oliver, whose first daughter was born as he was finishing the book, says ‘my partner and I have learnt so much from the book and it completely changed the way we approached the early months. We’ve saved money wherever we could, borrowing a buggy, baby-clothes and so on, and spent it on a major family holiday and my working part-time. Part-time working for new Dads is a great way to help the family bond. It’s expensive, but it’s an investment – and it’s a lot cheaper than separation!’
www.nosexpleasewereparents.com
