20 Simple, Everyday Ways to Be a Good Boyfriend
Whether you are in a new relationship, or have been dating the same person for a long time, it’s important not to lose sight of what makes you a good partner.
Here are 20 simple ways someone can be a better boyfriend to their partner:
1. Listen and let them vent
Communication is a key part of every relationship. As a boyfriend it is important to openly communicate with your partner and LISTEN to them when they are telling you something. It is also important to recognize when someone is looking for advice and when they are just looking to vent. Sometimes the best thing you can do to support a partner is let them vent to you without offering advice or judgement.
2. Plan dates
Whether you are in the honeymoon phase of the relationship, or not, it is important to have a date night every once in a while. Planning dates is a great way to show your partner that you care about them and want to spend time together. The dates can be low-key or super elaborate, but should be something that you and your partner enjoy doing together.
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3. Send a text during the day
Even if you are not super into texting, it can be sweet to send your partner cute texts throughout the day to show that you are thinking of them. If you don’t like texting, consider a phone call or a little email asking them how their day is going. The type of communication doesn’t matter as long as you are showing your partner that you are thinking of them.
4. Cook a weeknight meal
In addition to planning date nights, it’s important to prioritize spending time together in casual ways. A great way to do this is by making a meal during the week. This takes a task off of your partner’s plate and ensures that you can spend a dinner together.
5. More hugs
Physical touch is an extremely important part of any relationship. It’s important to prioritize physical intimacy during your relationship in addition to sexual intimacy. Things like hugging your partner, rubbing their back, sitting close to them on the coach can foster physical intimacy that will make you feel emotionally more connected to your partner. More physical intimacy can also lead to more sexual intimacy in most cases!
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6. Do your part around the house
It’s important that you and your partner are splitting chores in an equitable way. Whether or not you live together, make sure that you are both pulling your weight in terms of paying, helping out around the house and doing other chores.
7. Do your part in the bedroom
In addition to doing your part around the house, it’s important to do your part in the bedroom! Make sure that you are your partner are communicating about your sexual needs and ensuring that your sex is pleasurable for both of you.
8. Give genuine compliments
No matter how long you have been dating someone, it’s still special to receive compliments from your partner. Especially if your love language is words of affirmation! If your partner looks nice, tell them! If they did a great job on something, congratulate them! Recognizing your partner for their accomplishments will help them feel supported in the relationship.
9. Respect friendships
Even though you are dating someone, it’s important to remember that you are not the only person in their life. Being a good boyfriend means respecting your partner’s friendships and relationship to their family.
10. Communicate instead of yelling
If you and your partner are having a conflict, focus on communicating instead of yelling. Yelling will only escalate the situation and make things worse. If you feel like you aren’t able to calmly discuss the topic at hand, take some time to collect your thoughts, get your emotions under raps and come back to the conflict with a more level head.
11. Put the phone away
When you are spending time with your partner, put the phone away! It doesn’t count as quality time together if you are scrolling through an instagram feed the entire time that you are together.
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12.Surprise them every once in a while
Even though consistency is the most important of any relationship, it is also important to be spontaneous from time to time. Surprising your partner every once in a while can add a fun element to your relationship and keep your relationship light hearted.
13. Take care of your hygiene
Personal hygiene is an important part of life and an important part of relationships. Taking care of your mental and physical health (including your hygiene) will allow you to be the best boyfriend you can be to your partner.
14. Express your feelings
Just like it’s important to express your sexual needs in a relationship, it’s important to express your emotional needs as well. Express your feelings to your partner! Don’t expect them to read your mind or guess how you are feeling, articulate it to them! If something hurts your feelings, let your partner know. Your partner wants to know how to support you, but they won’t be able to if you don’t express your feelings to them.
15. Show empathy
In addition to expressing your feelings, it’s important to show empathy to your partner when they express their feelings to you. Being a good boyfriend means supporting your partner and showing them empathy.
16. Stay true to your word
If you say you're going to do something - actually do it! Good boyfriends are trustworthy and reliable. If something comes up and you are not able to stay true to your word, communicate that! Being transparent with your partner is as important as staying true to your word.
17. Never gossip or talk negatively about them to your friends
Relationships have their ups and downs and during conflicts or when you don’t see eye to eye, you may be tempted to vent to your friends about your partner. And while occasional venting is fine to do, it’s important not to gossip or talk negatively about your partner to your friends. Doing so will jeopardize the trust in your relationship.
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18. Give your partner space
Though this may sound counterintuitive, sometimes the best thing you can do to be a good boyfriend is to give your partner space. Space for self care, maintaining relationships with friends and family and exploring other hobbies will ensure that you don’t become codependent or too reliant on each other. Independence is an important part of any relationship and giving your partner space is a good way to encourage independence.
19. Be secure with yourself
Another great way to be a good boyfriend is to be secure and self-sufficient. No one wants a needy partner, which means that it’s important to work on your self confidence and security so that it does not affect your partner or your relationship.
20. Learn to apologize
One of the most important skills in any relationship is to learn how to apologize. If you are able to accept your faults and acknowledge that you made a mistake, you and your partner will be able to solve conflict more easily and move past the inevitable conflict in your relationship.
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