Taking a break (not the Ross and Rachel kind!) can help you survive some of your relationship’s toughest times, Natalie Mossayebi tells the Unii Babies podcast.

A humble timeout can keep you from doing potentially irreparable damage to a relationship, according to Unii Relationship Expert Natalie Mossayebi. Speaking on the Unii Babies podcast, the relationship coach told host Dr. Saranya Ravindran “One of the most powerful tools in the midst of intense conflict is a time out.”

She recognises that tired parents are often at their wit’s end, and, in that situation, the most mundane thing can make you snap. But you’re not who you really are in those moments, so why let them leave a mark? “It's natural to want to bite each other's heads off. It's natural to want to be opponents in those moments, but we're kind of in the coping mechanism. We're in threat mode. We're in the ‘you versus me’ mode. And that's not really the essence of love. That's not really who you are. You know, you kind of snapped into your coping strategy, which is actually a very young part of us. So, you know, snap you out of it. The timeouts are great.”

Natalie recommends giving yourself some grace. “The more stressful the moment, and the more you want to bite your partner's head off, the more you need that tool of the time out to go, right? Okay, we're going to go off for half an hour. We're there, you know, but don't make it more than maybe an hour or two. There's got to be, like, name the time. Okay, time out. We're coming back in half an hour. My partner, for example, will usually go for a walk or go for a drive, and I will just sit and relax in my room, or sometimes I'll scream into a pillow.”

Whatever works for you personally, we know your relationship will benefit from completing Natalie’s Love, Sex, and Parenting Journey with Unii.com. Sign up for a trial to learn about managing your conflict style and learning to parent as a team. And join Natalie and Unii Babies host Dr. Saranya Ravindran for more post-baby relationship advice in this inspiring Unii Babies podcast episode.

Unii Babies is created and owned by London-based family wellbeing educational platform Unii.com, which offers hundreds of episodes of expert-led video courses and a library of medically reviewed articles devoted to improving both baby and child health and your parenting journey. We can also have your parenting questions expertly answered. Contact us with what you want to know, and you may see one of our experts discuss it on our podcast or Unii.com: Because Family Matters.

This podcast is for reference and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific medical advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking or deciding not to take any action.

Unii’s Relationship Expert: Timeouts Are Not Just for the Kids!

Unii’s Relationship Expert: Timeouts Are Not Just for the Kids!