Just Kiss Me and Tell Me You Did the Laundry: A Guide to Negotiating Parenting Roles--From Diapers to Careers, Carpooling to Romance - Softcover

Bouris, Karen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1579547605 ISBN 13: 9781579547608

Publisher: Rodale Books, 2004

Synopsis

It's no secret that the bulk of the household management and childcare still falls to women, even if they work and make equal or more money than their partners. It's also no secret that women want this to change. Here is the book to help them design a more equal parenting arrangement with their partner, to give them a voice and a plan of action. By offering questions for discussion, exercises, and negotiation points (like planning the social calendar), couples can redefine roles and assign responsibility, increase communication, and give a welcome boost to their love life.

With the humor, wisdom, and advise gained from over 75 interviews with women and men, Just Kiss Me and Tell Me You Did the Laundry will help women have a more balanced home life and a more intimate marriage.

About this title

About the Author

Karen Bouris is the author of The First Time: Women Speak Out About Losing Their Virginity and has contributed to several other books, including Random Acts of Kindness and It's a Chick Thing. She is the former marketing director at Harper San Francisco and is now editorial director at Inner Ocean Publishing. Married with two children, she divides her time between Maui and Berkeley, California.

From the Inside Flap

JUST KISS ME AND TELL ME YOU DID THE LAUNDRY provides couples with all of the tools necessary to re-evaluate and reconstruct their parenting strategies. Karen Bouris provides revealing questions, interactive exercises, and a comprehensive list of negotiation points to help parents apply equal parenting to the following crucial areas:

SELF When we don t love ourselves, it s hard to have the inner fiber to generously love those around us. Mothers and fathers who take care of themselves as individuals emotionally, physically, spiritually, and intellectually are better parents and partners.

RELATIONSHIP A happy marriage leads to a happy home and happy children. Creating an equal marriage partnership constitutes shared decision-making around finances, childcare, career, and home.

CAREERS When two people become parents it often makes sense for one or both to downsize a career. But when designing equal parenting roles, couples must agree that each partner s careers and goals be of equal value, ensuring that individual dreams and goals are not unwillingly sacrificed.

CHILDREN Historically, the kitchen was the wife s domain, and the garage was the man s; the children were hers, and the paid job was his. In equal parenting, the company chairman could just as easily be the company chairwoman, while Mom and Dad show off their childcare prowess.

HOME It is sometimes hard for women to let go of their roles as cook, laundress, and housekeeper without feeling guilty. Realize that the traditional way is not the only or even the best way, and let the critical voice go

Reviews

Women seeking to establish equal partnerships with their husbands in their domestic and professional lives should appreciate Bouris's (The First Time) "blueprint for enacting change." Primarily based on extensive personal interviews, the guide depicts a diverse set of viewpoints that encompass everything from the guilt and anger that can be felt by full-time working moms who also bear the brunt of house and child-care responsibilities, to the sacrifices and rewards that men can find when they undertake the role of house husband. Systematically addressing major aspects of life (e.g., self, children, work and love), the author wisely organizes each chapter so that it can be read as a self-contained essay: a boon to time-constrained readers. While exercises like signing an intention statement to love and respect your partner come off a little stilted at first glance, Bouris's concrete tips for issues such as financially safeguarding stay-at-home parents, valuing personal dreams and goals, and negotiating housework are both valuable and helpful.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rodale Books
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1579547605
• ISBN 13: 9781579547608
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272