Over the years, being in the industry has given us detailed knowledge of which bloggers are blogging from the heart, and which are full of hot air. So your favourite cougar dating site, Toyboy Warehouse, is running through its favorite 15 dating blogs that will provide the tips you need, the anecdotes you crave and a good laugh when all else fails.

1. Dating Goddess: As explained in her Adventures in dating after 40, mature dating sometimes comes with a few unexpected twists, the best way to get past them is by sharing and no blog is better at providing honest, thoughtful musings on dating for 40+ than this.

2. Soon2becatlady: When you need a refreshing giggle at the drama and misadventure that comes with dating in the digital age, I recommend Soon2becatlady (spoiler: she’s not resorted to getting cats just yet!)

3. 40 Days of Dating: follows a unique and interesting social experiment conducted by two good friends, Jessica in Timothy, in New York. Tired of finding opposite problems in their dating lives, they decided to date each other for 40 days – to entertaining and often enlightening effect. (And it went so well, they’re making a book!)

4. DatingAdvice.com: If you’re looking for expert dating advice from people with both the personal and academic qualifications to give it, you might try DatingAdvice.com. As well as providing intelligent advice for both men and women, they also have an expert in mature dating, April Braswell, whose blogs shed light on the challenges of dating for the experienced, but keeps it fun and entertaining too. You can even ask them dating questions via Twitter (@DatingAdviceCom)

5. She Knows: It’s likely in your dating life you’re thinking about your sex life too. Find revealing ideas, frank advice and ideas to heat up your other love life on the She Knows blog.

6. 30 Dates: As well as providing excellent insights with her 30 Dates experiment, Charly Lester’s 30 Dates Blog is an inspiration to anyone looking to create their own dating blog too. Her 30 adventures are a great reminder that when it comes to dating you really have to just get out there.

7. Buzzfeed Dating Blog: If you’re just looking for a laugh or something to pass 15 minutes on your commute, the indisputable masters of quick, easily-digested content is always Buzzfeed. Their dating blogs are guaranteed to amuse you, and their quizzes provide you with useful answers to burning questions such as ‘Which fictional serial killer should I date?‘ (and eventually be killed by).

8. Single Dating Diva: Check out Single Dating Diva if you’re looking for advice to a specific question affecting your love life. Her top tips also contain some cheerful words to keep you smiling when this big ol’ numbers game has got you down.

9. We Love Dates: The definitive mother-load of online dating advice is available at the award winning We Love Dates blog. Their specialty is list blogs that are well known for being irresistibly readable, but without sacrificing strong, actionable advice.

10. Time Out Dating: Keeping up to date with the latest trends in online dating and technology affecting it is easier than ever with the Time Out Dating Blog, now written by 30 Dates’ Charly Lester. The results of their Global Dating Survey will show you which cities are best for dating, which cities are worst for dating and which accent the world finds irresistible (hint, you might like the answer to this one!)

11. Huffington Post: Prolific bloggers across every genre, The Huffington Post Dating Blog will provide you with a lot more than just a list of ‘5 best dating outfits for 2018’. Peruse these dating musings when you’re looking for a serious perspective on modern dating issues.

12. Divorced Girl Smiling: At Toyboy Warehouse, we know how divorce affects you when it comes to getting back on the horse again. Luckily Divorced Girl Smiling‘s blog is devoted to just that. Give it a read when you’re looking for some empathy.

13. Divorced Guy Grinning: And – of course – as divorce is a two way street, the equally excellent Divorced Guy Grinning is there to support men in the same boat and share the problems

14. Men’s Fitness: Providing excellent advice for men (and a good laugh for women) in this interactive mock-dating site, Men’s Fitness created a fake profile and got real expert analysis from professionals and single women. A must for any man who wants to succeed with women as you’ll learn exactly what’s going through her mind when you send a message bragging about your manhood. Check it out.

15. Role Reboot: A personal favorite, the Role Reboot blog is dedicated to challenging out-dated conceptions about men and women’s roles – a subject close to our hearts at Toyboy Warehouse. Expect excellent feminist thought-pieces, personal advice columns and honest story-telling.

There you have it! The top 15 blogs that will help you make 2018 the dating year you want it to be and keep you amused and optimistic along the way. If you’re looking for another recommended blog or specific piece of advice, email in.

Don’t forget the best in dating advice, stories and news – Toyboy Warehouse Blog (we might be a bit biased on that one).

The post 15 Essential Dating Blogs for Singles in 2018 appeared first on Toyboy Warehouse.

Monopoly is one of those games that can make or break relationships. It can seem to go on forever, and the objective of ‘having it all’ can bring out the competitive or defeatist side in all of us. There are so many editions of Monolpoly that even the most hardcore fans of the game can become broke trying to have them all. But even if Darth Vader lands on a Disney Castle at Times Square, the rules of the game are essentially the same.

Unlike Monopoly, relationships do not come with a rulebook in the box, and can be all the more confusing for it. There aren’t a specified number of players, and the rules are generally made up each time you play. Nobody wants to play a game where the rules are too confusing, mostly because the competitive part of us wants to be able to ‘win’. But without rules we can agree on, there is no game, and where is the fun in that?

It’s said that cheaters never prosper, but that’s not strictly true. Cheaters prosper very well in the short-term, or else there would be no point in cheating in the first place. As soon as you’re found out cheating, you may find other players don’t want to play with you any more. Unless of course you happen to be a celebrity, in which case you can sell your side of the story to a glossy magazine and get to play all over again. But for those of us who don’t have the lime light shining on us, we have to play by the rules, or else we Go To Jail. Metaphorically of course.

There are two ways of playing games with others, the Mono, and the Poly, like in relationships. Both ways of playing can be a lot of fun for all involved, but unless we know the rules of how to play, no one has any fun and we can end up picking up the pieces by ourselves.

Mono- The classic two-player game. In this game, there is no room for a third wheel, even having a non-playing banker can complicate things. For Monogamers, the game and the rules can be negotiated quite simply,. The downside is, once you get to know your opponent, you get to know the way they play the game very well, and winning can come easily when you understand their strategies. When there is a lack of competition, the game loses any element of fun you had originally.

If you want to keep playing with your player-two but are feeling monotonous, try playing a different two-player game like Checkers or Chess. When you play two-player games, remember that playing with each other is more important than winning or losing.

Poly- The more complicated game for more veteran players. The Polygamers have rules that may boggle the minds of the Monogamers, but there’s no doubt that their games are just as enjoyable for them. By having more than two players, there is more competition to who will end up ‘having it all’, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. It is entirely possible for someone to be playing in a Polygame, whilst thinking they’re playing a Monogame, in which case they have already lost because they don’t even know what game they’re playing.

If you want to be in a Polygame, or be a Polygamer, you need to be honest with whoever you play with. Trying to win a game without letting the other players know the rules is just as bad as cheating, and you can soon end up playing by yourself.

Whatever game you want to play, Monopoly, Chess, The Game of Life, the only way to win is to learn how to lose. Winning every time soon loses it’s appeal, and playing the same game over and over is just plain boring. So pick up the dice and roll, you never know the outcome until you take a Chance.

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Online messaging doesn’t count as talking.

In the growing technological world more and more people spend most of their time talking through via text. Not so much as a phone call now but a text. Texts are easier, faster and cheaper but not so useful for full blown conversations. Especially with newly blossoming romantic interests a text isn’t as simple as a conversation, it is a carefully orchestrated battle in which each contestant attempts to make themselves look cool, funny and attractive. The problem is the time, there is too much time to think about your reply. I’ve met people who actively check their reply with a friend to make sure there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s unbelievable, a focus group for text replies.

With a real conversation, unless you want to come across as slightly broken, a response is expected within at most 5 seconds. A text response can be hours or even days, organising a coffee with a friend can take so long that there’s no point by the time they reply. To add to the cons of texting, having to tap away a paragraph is an arduous experience, whereas a quick phone call is simple and to the point.

A few of my friends have begun to seriously like girls by the majority of conversations through texts or facebook, they talk for days and days… by text. It’s ridiculous, everything can be hidden, every sentence is constructed and so no response is ever really true. It’s not you replying but the person you think they would fancy.

Most of us have likely seen the TV show “Catfish” where online pen pals track down their internet lovers and more often than not discover their soul mates are not quite what they expected. The most recent episode I’ve seen, a man travelled across America to find his tall beautiful, blond internet girlfriend only to be informed she’s actually a 300 pound man called Steve. I know that texting a girl or guy you met at a bar isn’t as bad as “Catfish” but don’t rely on just the text, it will fizzle out fast.

The text to actual social interaction isn’t a tricky evolution, you’ve already sparked their interest so just be forward. Ladies you can also initiate it as well, this is the 21^st century. Ask them for a coffee or an alcoholic evening drink or if you’re feeling especially nervous, organise a group meet “A few friends and I are going to (Local bar) tomorrow night, grab a few friends and come along”. The best part about the group invite is that there is no pressure, it doesn’t have the label of a “Date” but we both know the only reason they’re both there is for each other.

We live in a hugely technological reliant world and a lot of the techy stuff is brilliant but not the texts. You will learn more about each other in one night of face-to-face interaction than a week of that online chitchat.  This could save so much time, you could quickly realise that they aren’t for you, instead of floating along imagining the person on the other end of the text is your soul mate.

Call don’t text!

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How do you know if you need a love life coach?

Read these telltale signs…

Throughout our lives we are coached by experts. As children many of us will have joined a club to be coached to play football, dance or sing. Perhaps we had extra coaching for things we found difficult like extra Maths or English tuition, to ensure we met the grade. In work and business people seek out advisors and mentors, while sports people at the top of their game look to coaches to help them develop further and reach peak performance. Yet when it comes to our love life and important relationships, we generally seem to leave our success or failure, pleasure or pain, to chance. Few of us ever think to seek out support except perhaps the odd bit of advice from parents and friends. Yet they can only ever speak from their personal perspective and are definitely not experts in this field!

“As a relationship therapist and love life coach, people often ask me, how can love life coaching help me?” says Helen Rice Founder of BeLoveCurious.com. “Deciding to ask for help with your relationship is a very personal decision and there are many reasons why clients seek us out. Here’s our Top 10 Telltale Signs that reveal you‘re in need of some help to find your dating-to-relationship mojo and some clues as to how we might work with you to get the love life results you want.”

1.You find a reason not to date any and every one

Do you have a check list of all the things you don’t want in a partner? You know the things we’re talking about – they have to be a certain height, they must have dark hair not blonde, only a lawyer or a banker will do etc. While a dating coach does advocate you being clear on what you are looking for in a partner, they will make you think carefully about how you could be limiting your options.

2.You have started to believe that you are destined to be single and are better off that way

Do you constantly tell people that you are better off single and never wanted to have a relationship anyway? Do you really believe this or is it easier to keep telling yourself and everyone else that? A relationship coach can help you challenge your fixed ways of thinking about yourself and other people and help you explore and understand what’s really getting in the way of achieving your love, sex, dating and relationship goals.

3. You feel like you always attract Mr/Miss Wrong

Feel like you only ever attract the bad ones? Do you always follow a similar dating pattern? A dating coach can help you identify these patterns and help you to break them. They may also reflect on your first loves, as it is often these early relationships that set the foundations for later love or lack of it.

4. You can’t get past the first date and don’t know why?

Why is it that your friends seem to find it so easy and yet you can’t get past the first date. Chatting through your hopes and fears, and perhaps even play acting a first date scenario – perhaps with a glass of wine in hand can give you some perspective on what you’re doing and why it might not be helping you to that so desired second date.

5. You think about your ex all of the time and can’t seem to move on

Do you compare every new date to your ex? Does everything you do or say remind you of them; songs on the radio, your favourite box set? A love life coach will help you to talk about special people and events in your past to reveal what you are doing now to protect your heart and keep others at a distance.

6. You really want to find the ONE but seem to scare off potential candidates

You know you want a relationship and are desperate to find love, but your actions are currently having a different reaction. Sometimes you need to take an alternative approach and do things differently to the way you are doing them now; often it helps to just stop. A dating coach can help you create goals and then make a plan for success – working with you to overcome the barriers and resistance you might feel when taking on new personal challenges.

7. You feel that you don’t really deserve a happy relationship

You don’t really like yourself that much, so why should anyone else? Does this sound familiar – do you think you’re not attractive enough, or clever or outgoing enough to find a fulfilling relationship? Think again, most of us entertain more negative than positive thoughts about ourselves. A relationship coach will look to find out what is at the source of these negative thoughts and help you to see them as the self-limiting untruths that they are.

8. You’ve lost your confidence?

What’s caused you to lose your confidence? Can you pin-point the moment when your confidence vanished or has a bad date left you feeling flat and uninspired? Working with a coach to get to the bottom of such experiences and what you’ve made it mean about you, is key to ditching the unhelpful opinions you hold about yourself that are stopping you from having the relationship you really want.

9. You believe that men/women you date are only interested in you for sex, nothing more

It is possible to have sex without intimacy and yet sex and intimacy are so completely intertwined when we are interested in creating a successful, loving relationship. A dating coach can help you to explore your attitudes, values, beliefs and practices around both sex and intimacy and work with you to ensure you are fulfilled in your relationships.

10. Your relationship rules are set in stone

Are you someone that has very particular relationship rules and won’t budge when it comes to carrying them out? For example, your date should always call first, text messages should be replied to instantly or within a set number of hours, no sex until the third date? Sometimes having such high expectations of how your date should behave (when often they have no idea of these rules) can only lead to disappointment and upset. Connecting with a relationship coach will allow you to explore the origin of these relationship rules and discover strategies for adapting them so that they don’t compromise your future happiness.

Helen continues: ‘Relationship coaching can be of benefit to everyone, whether you are already in a relationship or single. We believe that everyone can have the relationship of their dreams. All it takes is a willingness to be:

* Curious about why your love-life isn’t working out the way you’d like it to

* Interested in discovering new things about yourself

* Doing some things differently, even when it might feel a bit awkward

* Persistent!

Helen concludes: “Engaging with a relationship coach in a relaxed, ongoing and totally confidential conversation will help you to explore what’s getting in the way of achieving your love-life or relationship goals. Just by getting really interested in the whys and wherefores of your current love-story we know you’ll start to see new things about yourself and your approach to life, love, sex, dating and relationships. These insights will allow you to better understand what and how you can do things differently to move closer to having the kind of relationship you really want.”

The post How To Know When It’s Time To Call in The Experts appeared first on Toyboy Warehouse.

So, you got the girl. Success. Been in a relationship for months. Success. Cohabiting or even getting married. Success. You laid out the foundations of your future, thinking not just about you and your partner, but children too. It all seemed to come together, an idyllic union so cliché that you marvelled at how ridiculously elegant it all was.

But now you find yourself nostalgic about an earlier pre-relationship life, asking, ‘Remember when I was single…?’ Maybe your relationship is not as healthy as you think. I recently got thinking about the notion that some couples are not honest with each other – not in terms of fidelity, but in being themselves, transparent and forthright. A friend had recently opened up to me about his girlfriend of three months. It was a rare glimpse: he always kept friends at an arm’s-length when it concerned his personal life. So when he told me his relationship had, to put in his words, ‘come to a standstill,’ I knew it was a bona fide concern. ‘Things aren’t looking too good for us. I feel like crap, but honestly I wish that she’d just tell me to go.’ I asked him why, and to my surprise, he shrugged, stating she despised chivalry, and that their relationship was nothing more than a game of maintaining façades. It took me a moment to process what he had said, as we stood in a library perusing books to pass the time. I failed to reconcile the reasoning and my friend’s personality; he is the sort of guy who would open doors for women, lend an ear to female friends who were going through a rough patch, and chin-wagging to lighten the mood. It was difficult to imagine that the respect of a mild-mannered, six-foot something bloke that had once served as a building block for his relationship proved to be detrimental.

A few weeks later they parted ways, and like everything they left unsaid to one another, their relationship was swept under the carpet. Was this simply a case of better soon then later? Maybe. Yet, this perception of chivalry needs to be more broadly addressed. Here, relationship etiquette becomes even muddier. When is chivalry adequate? When is it stifling the imbalance that many couples value as part of nurturing a healthy relationship?

I believe that chivalry is a two-sided coin. Where one may consider gallantry a romantic aspect, another may find it patronising. Given the topicality of gender equality, shouldn’t chivalry be reciprocated, woman-to-man? According to the Daily Mail, research indicated that seven per cent of women find chivalry patronising while only one in seven men will offer their seat to a woman for fear of causing offence.[1] So, there you have it. Chivalry is akin to a leap of faith – just give it a try. You may just meet your soul mate! Okay, that is a stretch, but regardless, it surely is not a terrible thing in the world; rather, it is something that is sorely lacking – don’t let fear of rejection overshadow benevolence. For couples, if you find it disrupting the harmony, ease off, and most of all, communicate and understand each other. A surprise breakfast in bed would do no harm. On the other hand, if you’re being kind out of a need to bottle up emotions and avoid honesty with you partner (as my friend was told he doing), think about the long-term prospects of your relationship. It’s better to be close and honest than living in faux happiness.

The post How Chivalry Will Make or Break Your Relationship appeared first on Toyboy Warehouse.

Yesterday evening Matthew and I went to the HAC Armoury House in London to represent Toyboy Warehouse at the UK Dating Awards. Aside from picking up lots of prosecco and meeting interesting people from all over the UK dating industry, we were absolutely overjoyed to found ourselves the recipients of two dating awards and highly commended for a third.

Before Thursday were very pleased to have met the short-list for Best Commercial Dating Blog in a group that included some excellent dating blogs that we admire very much, such as The Guardian’s Soulmates Blog, We Love Dates and Muddy Matches. To be recognised by the leaders of our industry and among our peers was wonderful – if not a little surprising!

This accolade reflects above all on our members who have helped us both by writing blogs, inspiring us with their experiences and being the soul of our site. Thanks to all of you, we hope we have provided useful, real dating advice that you can continue to find entertaining.

If you’d like to get involved with the blog and help us continue our success, I’d love to hear from you.

Email me any time,

Debbie x

([email protected])

The post Toyboy Warehouse at the UK Dating Awards appeared first on Toyboy Warehouse.

FIRST dates are big, scary and unpredictable. Think job interview, only more personal if you’re rejected for the role. As it’s so intimidating, all that’s left to do is hide in a corner and pretend it’s not going to happen, right? Stop right there. As with all things challenging, taking a few simple but important steps can quickly make you feel more prepared, confident and date-ready.

Step One: Assess Your Online Presence

When we don’t know much about something yet, we Google. When we’re looking to find out more about a person, we Facebook. Assuming you use the web as much as anyone, within a few minutes I can probably learn your middle name, read your CV and check out the drunk photos you took last Saturday night. So making sure all social media reflect kindly on you will pay off when it comes to dating.

First impressions are made very quickly and they’re all about the visual (we’ll revisit this later) so make sure the first images and supporting information your date sees about you online is selling you. If in doubt, set it all to private. Also you might consider giving your date a quick Google to see what they’re about. This can be a good move and a bad one. If you decide to, DON’T quote their list of Likes back to them in person, but DO have a vague idea of what they might be interested in to direct conversation.

Step Two: Think Positive

A fun, positive attitude will get you a long way with the opposite sex, both pre-game and when you’re actually on the date.

Before: Following on from that visual first impression you made digitally, think of a nice outfit you can wear, perhaps buy something to give you that new clothes feeling, try a way of doing your hair that takes a little longer than usual and makes you feel more presentable – looking good means feeling good.

During: All pampered and glam now? Brilliant. Now there’s a good chance you’ll look happy. Smile plenty as it helps to establish rapport. Likewise, stick to nicer topics of conversation and don’t fall into the trap of rambling on about your patchy date history. The night is young, exes are irrelevant, so let yourself enjoy the moment.

Step Three: Establish Physical Contact Early

While physical contact can be very important for bonding in any relationship, if you’re going to be more than friends with your date then physical chemistry is key. For many, it’s the most important thing there is. It seems a little scary to initiate but it’ll do you both a favour to see whether their touch opens you up or sends you cringing away to the friend zone.

How to do it: For any men reading, lean in as you meet, plant a kiss on her cheek and touch her hand for just a second as you do it. Girls, initiate the same gesture and it will make you quite irresistible, men love a woman who can make the first move. And if you want something long term, make sure it doesn’t go much further than that.

Step Four: Relax

A bad first date is not the end of the world, it’s not even necessarily the end of the acquaintance. Speaking for myself, I once had a bad first date that led to an 18 month relationship. So remember you can’t have too many friends, that you learnt something from the experience, had a fun night out and there are plenty more fish in the sea etc., etc. Whichever cheesy philosophy you can handle, remind yourself there is at least an element of truth to it.

Whether relationships last one evening or twenty years, they all serve a purpose. That purpose can be long-term love or it can be a brief source of fun and entertainment. So relax and see where the date takes you.

The post The Girl’s Guide To Date Preparation appeared first on Toyboy Warehouse.

Dating a man or woman with ideas of their own? Is a trip to see The Hunger Games followed by TGIFridays just not gonna cut it? Here are some top “geeky” date ideas to entertain the sexy intellectual in your life.

Go To Your Local Trivia Night 

What do intelligent people enjoy doing? Flexing what it metaphorically their strongest muscle! Find a local pub quiz going on, order in a round of drinks and settle down to some good old-fashioned quizzing. Got a friend with similar interests? Make it a double-date. Ooh I’m feeling competitive just thinking about this one. Don’t forget you can always practice at home first. Here’s a few trivia questions to get you started.

Indulge In a Private Lesson 

Hire a private tutor for the evening to teach you a new skill together. This can be something themed, like learning a romance language for example. Or you could go for something you’ve always wanted to have a go at like electric guitar or take a test drive in a really expensive, up-to-date vehicle. Geek out together over the excitement of learning something new.

Visit a Molecular Gastronomy Restaurant

Food just might be the tastiest science there is (and I’m not sure that’s saying much.) Find the restaurants near you that offer new and exciting Modernist Cuisine or if you’re feeling confidence give it a go at home.

Get Out To The Museums 

Undoubtedly one of the best things about living in the UK is the availability of free-entry museums. There are the big ones in major cities that will naturally come to mind but there are probably some niche ones near you work checking out also. Trust me, I had an amazing day once at Birmingham’s Pen Museum (you’d be surprised).

Look Up Local Tech Events 

It could be the release of an app, it could be the demonstration of a new product, check out whatever tech launches are going on nearby or any tech exhibitions. The future is now.

Independent Cinema

OK, everyone loves the movies sometimes so you can make it less generic by going to a more interesting cinema. Enjoy admirable visuals at an IMAX, find yourself unsure where to look at a giant screen or visit on the smaller, independent cinemas that have sofas instead of chairs. These often show unusual and foreign films too, perfetto!

Board Game Marathon 

You don’t have to go all the way and play a 48 hour game of Magic The Gathering. This is good clean fun at it’s very best but it can also be strangely exciting in a competitive, I’m-building-a-hotel-right-on-your-property kind of way. Looking for some unusual games? Try Carcassonne or Pandemic.

Lock Yourself In

The most fun ever had in an hour (yes really, more fun than even what you’re thinking), I highly recommend you take yourself – and your date – immediately to your nearest Escape Game provider. You and your chosen companion will be locked into a room/rooms where a puzzle has been left for you to solve in order to work your way out. Don’t make it in time and they leave you locked in till the next paid customer arrives (oh OK, not really). Learn whether you work well as a team, how your date acts under pressure and all that other rubbish while you seriously have an amazing time.

Volunteer

If you or your partner are looking for something less obvious and more generally beneficial to humanity, I recommend looking for a volunteering experience near you. It may not seem the best choice, as you will no doubt share your date’s attention with a volunteer team, but it’s a good chance to see how socially conscious they are show them you enjoy giving back to the universe.

The post 9 Geeky Date Ideas appeared first on Toyboy Warehouse.

Every relationship will have it’s ups and downs. Sadly there comes a time for many when it looks like everything is going to end entirely. But there’s a big difference between a little hiccup and a full break up. Here are some signs that your relationship is seriously not working out and it might be time to move on.

1. You’ve stopped making plans for the future 

Whether it’s looking for a property, booking a holiday in 2017 or just day-dreaming about the life you two might have together someday, talking about the future is more important than you think. When you’re happy together, there’s a tendency to talk big and that peters out a little when you’re not so happy.

However, if you’re finding yourselves hesitant to commit to any future plans together, even small social commitments in a couple of months for example, it could be a sign that things are coming to an end. If it’s you that won’t make any plans, ask yourself honestly why this is happening. Are you really unavailable at that time? If you just don’t feel like it, why is that? If it’s your partner, ask them why they’re unavailable but be prepared for the answer.

Find out more about this and other conversations you should be having with your partner on the Bustle blog: 9 Serious Conversations Every Couple Should Have

2. The two of you talk, rather than listen 

A relationship involves both of you expressing your feelings but hopefully spending equal time listening too. Sometimes in life you find yourself co-existing with someone, rather than really sharing your lives together. One of the first signs of this is that you talk at each other, rather than listen and digest what each other is saying. Often a relationship will have one dominant partner who vocalises more, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it if your partner seems more shut off than usual.

Ask yourself regularly, am I listening to my partner? Have I taken time to ask them about their day? Yes, I’m stressed about this situation at work, but what’s going on for him/her? If you find yourself in a position where you don’t really care about the answer to these questions, or think that your partner doesn’t, then you know there are some issues here.

More on the technique of listening in all our relationships How Important is Listening, Really?

3. The tone between you has changed two 

When it comes to communicating with your partner, it’s not just the talking rather than listening that can speak volumes about you two. The tone of voice you use with your significant other can show signs of how you view each other. When we’re happy together our tone of voice is generally lighter and easier. Tone of voice and intonation is also a great indicator as to whether or not we’re really paying attention to our partners.

To work out if this is an issue in your relationship, you’ll first need to do some listening both to your lover and to yourself. Have you found yourself straining or forcing yourself to sound interested? Inevitably we can’t always be interested in what our partner says, but if your tone isn’t honest neither are you. What about your partner, are they always snapping at you and showing you disrespect? This can be a sign that things have started to disintegrate between you too and there are things to work on.

More on what what your voice says about you in Putting Your Best Voice Forward via Psychology Today.

4. You’re confiding in others more than each other 

Even if all you really do is grunt at each other in a reassuring way, it’s important as a couple that you share some emotional understanding. If one or both of you is regularly looking for support in someone else, rather than each other, it’s not a good sign. Now I’m not for a moment doubting the importance of getting a third-party perspective and your friends’ support when you need it most. But it’s important that that person remains objective and doesn’t literally become the third party in your relationship.

Remember no one needs to be making decisions for you, don’t rush into a break up unless it’s something you’ve picked. Take others’ advice with a pinch of salt and then do what feels right.

Find out Is Your Relationship a Triangle? 

5. One of you needs the other more 

No one wants to feel like their partner is just another dependant with demands on their time. No one wants to feel like they aren’t needed by their loved one either. It’s a difficult balance and can fluctuate at times, but should generally reach a solid equilibrium of balanced needs, something that shouldn’t be confused with co-dependency which is unhealthy in its own way.

Expect to take each other for granted a little as your relationship goes on but if one of you is becoming the adult and the other the child then it may have gone too far. If you think this is the case, it’s important to address the subject honestly but sensitively. Does your partner depend on you for money? If so, encourage them to look for more money making opportunities. Are you emotionally dependent on your lover? Find a way to claw back a little self-dependence. You can do this by taking up a new hobby, discovering a new place to draw confidence from and better emotional strength will follow.

Do you think it’s even worse than this? Check out 5 Signs Your Relationship Isn’t Working and You’re Wasting Your Time via Elite Daily

The post 5 Ways To Know If It’s Just Not Working Out appeared first on Toyboy Warehouse.

Did you know that dating a toyboy is a fast-acting cure for the common cold? Or perhaps that the scientist that discovered electricity had a thing for older women? OK these things aren’t strictly true but there are some serious benefits to dating younger men that you shouldn’t wait any longer to enjoy.

1. Toyboys are not just for Christmas…

Hoping for a toyboy in your stocking this year? Be warned, once you’ve got him you might not want to let him go!

2. …but they do look excellent in Santa hats

Case and point.

It’s never too early to get into the festive spirit.

3. Toyboys aren’t cubs, they’re lions

The fact that he’s younger doesn’t mean he’s passive and inexperienced. Toyboys have lots to offer you.

4. Their exes aren’t competition

For a guy who has dated younger women, you’re a game-changer. Expect to change his standards…

5. Toyboys make your love life all about you again

Tired of putting everyone else first? Toyboys aren’t! Prepare to be the centre of the universe.

Know any more toyboy secrets? Share them in the comments.

The post 5 Secrets About Toyboys appeared first on Toyboy Warehouse.