Problem: Article: An overbearing mother-in-law is likely acting out of an impulse to take care of her child. If you approach the subject with her when your partner isn’t around, she will automatically feel like you’re betraying her child’s trust and not acting in their best interests. She also may not trust your decision-making, so facing her one-on-one may be counterproductive and lead to an argument. If your mother-in-law tends to make a lot of demands, calmly explain your reasoning for doing something differently to make it seem like you aren’t simply trying to spite her. If you simply ignore her, you’ll just make her think that she needs to push harder. By explaining yourself, you’ll not only show her that you’re willing to stand up for yourself, but you may point something out that she hasn’t thought about and make her agree with you.  For example, if she claims that you’re not being appreciative of your partner, calmly explain, “I express appreciation privately all the time, just not in front of you. I don’t want to disrespect you by making a show of it.” If your mother-in-law won’t stop asking when you’re going to have grandchildren, make it about the quality of life for the children to seem like you’ve thought it through. Say, “We’re waiting until we’ve set up a college fund so that we give them the best future possible.” If your mother-in-law tends to insert herself during key decisions or conversations, simply wait until she’s not around or move to a different part of your home to talk it out. She can’t insert her opinion if she isn’t around to make it. “We can talk about it later” is a simple way of deflecting tough conversations in front of your mother-in-law. If your mother-in-law is often critical of you specifically, try showing lots of affection and appreciation for your spouse whenever she’s around. She may relax if she feels like the two of you are both working towards the common goal of making her child happy.  Simple comments like, “I appreciate you picking the kids up today. You’re such a good partner!” are an easy way to score points in front of your mother-in-law. This is a good strategy if your mother-in-law has expressed a concern about your loyalty or dedication. Showing her that you care about her child will put her at ease and make her feel less compelled to insert herself.
Summary: Avoid trying to solve the problem in a private conversation. Explain why you’re not following your mother-in-law’s demands. Wait until she’s not around to have important conversations about key decisions. Express gratefulness for your spouse in front of your mother-in-law.

Problem: Article: A big problem that people have when it comes to dating is rushing into things. You really want to get married, and that's completely understandable, but you have to really make sure that you want to be married to this person for the rest of your life, otherwise it's going to cause problems down the road.  It's usually best to give it three months before you start to get more serious. This amount of time lets you get over the initial high (the "honeymoon phase") and allows to you look at the relationship more clearly. For example, say you meet a nice guy and you've gone on a few dates. Instead of right away trying to hint towards marriage or moving in together, you step back and let things move naturally in that direction. He's less likely to feel broadsided by your need for a husband. Another thing that has a tendency to foul up relationships is too many expectations. If you're coming into a relationship with your entire marriage and life until death planned out, that's a huge amount of pressure to put on another person. Chances are things aren't going to work out in the way you have planned (welcome to life).  For example, say you've gone out with a guy for a few dates and you're already telling your friends that he's "The One" and you're spending all this time fantasizing about your perfect marriage together, instead of spending time with him just being in the present relationship. You have to allow that relationship to develop as it will. There's nothing wrong with daydreaming, or hoping that he might be the man you marry, but you have to make sure that you're grounded in the reality of the relationship. That amazing guy in your head might bear little resemblance to the guy you're actually dating and it will hurt you when he turns out not to be like you've been imagining him. A good way to make sure that things progress further than a few dates is to engage in the things that he's interested in. This doesn't mean molding yourself to what you think he wants, or that you leave your own interests by the wayside. It means that you find out about his interests, ask him about them, and maybe try them out.  For example: He really likes to swim. You could ask him about the kinds of swimming he does, how he got into swimming, does he like to compete, and so on. You could even have him help you improve your own swimming techniques. Remember, though, if he is only interested in his own hobbies and never in yours, there are going to be problems later on. He's probably a bit narcissistic and certainly not as interested in you as you deserve. A really important part of creating a lasting relationship is to make sure that you show the other person how important they are to you. He'll feel that he's important to you and that will strengthen your relationship.  Tell him what he means to you. Say things like "It really means a lot to me that you did all the dishes last night," or "Thank you so much for listening to me rant about my terrible day." You can also do little things to show your appreciation: take him out for one of his favorite activities as a surprise, write him a letter with the reasons why he means so much to you. You need to find out whether he's the marrying type and how he might feel about marrying you, in specific. If he doesn't want to marry and that's super important to you, then it might be time to move on and find someone with whom you are more compatible.  You can come right out and ask "How do you feel about marriage?" (Avoid doing that in the beginning of the relationship, otherwise you'll come off way too strong.) It might be better to ease into this question. You could bring up some mutual friends who just got married, or someone at work and say "I think that your earlier 30s are a good time to get married, what do you think?" If he reacts badly to the idea of marriage, that is not a good sign. You should also pay attention to how he uses "we" and "us" in referring to the future. The more he's making future plans with you in terms of a partnership the more likely he is to be looking towards marriage and commitment.
Summary:
Don't take things too fast. Temper your expectations. Engage with his interests. Don't take him for granted. Gauge his interest in marriage.