Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool (The ParentData Book 2)

by Emily Oster

Some small-scale randomized interventions do show some effectiveness. One is the “marriage checkup.”16 The idea behind this is to have an annual meeting—possibly facilitated by some professional—to actually discuss your marriage. What do you feel is working? What isn’t working? Are there particular areas of concern or unhappiness? These checkups seem to result in improvements in intimacy (i.e., sex) and marital satisfaction. This makes sense in the abstract; it’s helpful to talk things through methodically with a neutral third party. Beyond this particular intervention, there is other evidence in favor of therapy more generally—group couples therapy, counseling programs beginning before birth and continuing after—to improve relationships.17 Speaking in broad generalizations, these focus on communication and positive solutions to conflict.