Yesterday’s Parade magazine had an insightful article by Leslie Bennetts on the state of marriage in the U. S. The magazine surveyed more than a thousand married Americans, and among the holy trinity of common disagreements—money, sex, and housework—I noticed an interesting result.
Many other surveys have shown money and sex to be the most common issues that couples fight about, and finances topped the list for our respondents as well, with 43% reporting that they squabble about money. Household chores and sex ranked second and third, respectively, as causes of contention.
More people argue about housework than sex. The full survey describes household chores as “dishes and garbage.” But what about cooking? I wondered what the results would be for families in which the dads prepared the food. So I did my own survey, of one couple. The results were very positive: arguments about chores diminished and disagreements about sex vanished. Now if only there was a way to get the same agreement on financial matters.
Very much enjoying your new blog (was sent via a flaming pablum link). The squid piece was particularly good. Was also interested in the amount of chicken stock in your bolognese. will try that. A question: where do you live? Are you talking Union Square greenmarket, Grand Army Plaza (Brooklyn), or elsewhere?
Posted by: paulhw | September 22, 2008 at 09:43 PM