>Many people feel that they do not have good role models to follow on relationships development.

Because of divorce, the nuclear family ( with just mom, dad, kids) and hardly any family’s who have extension with them such as grandma, grandpa, things appear to be different in society today.
What are some of the ingredients to a sound relationship?
There are some simple ingredients to any relationship. I always think of trust being number 1. If a relationship lacks that, it is not very sound. Here are a few ingredients I have come up with that are needed for a good relationship:

Trust
Empathy
Giving
Compassion
Communication
Love
Having fun together and alone

Any relationship needs some foundation. Other foundational needs include empathy. You definitely need to put yourself if a loved one’s shoes, and walk around for a few days just to see what their life is really about. Then you can truly appreciate where they are coming from when they complain!
Giving: In any relationship you need to meet at the middle and sometimes you may feel you have given more, but that is good. You need to feel that you give to the relationship.
Compassion: This one is special because you need compassion in all walks of life. In any relationship, you need to feel with the person. Try to place yourself with them in their problems without giving advice, this is not easy.
Communication: You need to talk to each other. Communicating your needs is very important. Remember that your partner cannot read your mind. You may think they do sometimes, but they do not know what you really need. You have to tell them. On arguing: know that there will be disagreements at times. You have to deal with this, and use your best giving skills. Always settle things. Do not give up. Do not get physical.
Love: Romantic love is fun. At first you you may want to be with your partner all the time, and after awhile, you may look for ways to be alone sometimes. This is how love works. Work it for you and your loved one. Love can grow stronger with some distance. Give your partner some space too. If  your relationship has the #1 ingredient- TRUST, you don’t need to worry about distance.  You can spend time with other people and still have fun together.
Having fun needs to be included:Couples and friends love to have fun together. This is an important point. Scheduling dates ( even after you have been married a long time) is fun. My husband and I go out to dinner every week. This is our special date, and we try to find different restaurants to go to. We also have special times alone. As you know,  I like to write, and take pictures. He likes to work on old cars. Both of these alone things take time from each other. So, we have our alone time too!