Many relationships with a huge age gap exist. If you are in a relationship with a partner a few years your senior, there’s no issue. But when the age differences stands at a decade or more, there may be some issues that could arise. These issues need to be handled expertly or it may spell the end of the relationship. An older woman can teach you a lot of things you don’t know since they have more experience to boot. A younger woman can also add that extra spice to your life. There are many ways you can make age differences in a relationship work for the both of you, and we’ve got the best selected for you to ruminate on.
How to Make Age Differences Work
Age differences can be used to your advantage; you just need to know how to go about it. Here are the tips you need to get age differences to become a resource rather than a handicap:
Always Find Out What Your Partner Thinks
As an older woman in a relationship, asking your partner to share their views on whatever subject you bring up will help you in the long run. This is because the younger partner will become more sincere knowing that you value their input on any matter. As a younger woman in the relationship, this will help you to understand the views of the older partner and get a better input from them.
This engenders better communication in the relationship, and will make the love grow stronger.
Never Use the “I’m Older than You” Line
This is meant for the older woman in the relationship. Telling your partner that you’re older than they are and should be the deciding party is a huge mistake. In some relationships, saying this just once is enough to result in a downward spiral. Your partner already knows you are older, so don’t keep reminding them about it, or you’ll kill the relationship with your words.
Always Respect Your Partner’s Feelings
When your partner has a strong view against/for something, it wouldn’t hurt to show respect for what they express admiration or disgust for. An older woman could be troubled that she’s getting too old and may become undesirable to you. This is an expression of the deep fear they have that someone else may take you away. Laughing it off may create insecurity in your partner and lead to something undesirable. Re-assuring your partner that despite the fact that you’re much younger than she is, you still prefer her, and only her. This helps in taking your relationship to a much stronger point and the both of you will be happy for it.
For the younger woman, there are also other feelings that can come up which may seem too little to be concerned about. One thing you must note is that every partner in a relationship needs some form of assurance at a point in life. This is why you should respect the feelings of your partner no matter the age difference and help them through the difficult time.
Share Everything You Have
When partners in a relationship refuse to share, issues may occur. There are relationships where the older woman may be earning more than the younger partner. This may cause issues if the woman refuses to be an active player in the affairs that could affect the relationship. Also, if a younger woman is earning more than the older partner, she may be more inclined to be less sincere or respectful when it comes to making a collaborative effort. When you share what you have with your partner without looking at the age difference, there’s a possibility that the relationship will become much stronger after every passing day.
Differences in Your Social Status/Achievements Shouldn’t Be a Factor
As an older partner in a relationship, it is possible that you may have a higher social standing than your partner. It may also be that your older/younger partner has more notable achievements than you do. This doesn’t make the partner lesser than you in any way. There are ways you can always re-assure your partner that nothing will come between the both of you. With the right communication existing in the relationship, there is a greater chance that the difference in your achievements/social stand won’t cause any problems.
Listen to Yourselves, and Yourselves Alone
There is a strong possibility that people, especially your relatives and friends will not approve of your relationship with an older or younger woman if the age difference is too high. This is the major reason why you should listen to yourselves on any issue and don’t value third-party input. Keeping an us-against-the-world approach to everyone else’s opinion will help your relationship grow very quickly and sustain it for years to come.
Age differences play a role in defining the path of some relationships, but shouldn’t define yours in any way. The love you have for each other should be the focal point at all times, and everything else will fall in line.