Archive for January, 2013

A fellow AJC blogger, George Mathis, is writing today about a new study that says that husbands that perform less masculine chores around the house are less likely to have sex.

From Mathis’ blog “News to Me”:

“The study in the American Sociological Review says husbands who spend more time doing traditionally female chores, such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping, report having less sex than those who partake “in traditionally masculine tasks — yard work, paying bills, and auto maintenance,” reports Agence France Presse.

The study looked at 7,002 straight, married couples in the United States. The median age of those in the study was about 43. Data used in the study was collected from 1992 to 1994. Researchers could not use more recent info because “to our knowledge, it is the only dataset with detailed measures of both sexual frequency and actual participation in household labor.”

Still, the researchers, two-thirds of which are female, concluded “display of gender is …

Continue reading A husband who helps around the house is bound to get more sex »

I know a mom that is considering divorcing her husband. She has gone as far as visiting a lawyer to see how things would work.

Before visiting the lawyer, she thought she would take her husband to a counselor to have a third-party present to tell him she wants a divorce. She thought the counselor would be good in case he just completely loses it.

But the lawyer advised her not to discuss the divorce with her husband until she was ready to move out or have him moved out. He said it should all happen in one day to avoid further discussion and dragging it out – a la Katie-Holmes style.

I guess with this method you have to know you’re really doing this and there won’t be any convincing you not to pull the trigger.

But is this fair to the other party? Should the spouse get some warning – or did that come earlier in daily life? Should the spouse get a chance to defend the union? Does the immediately parting method make you enemies and not allow for a civil divorce or does it just …

Continue reading Do you roll out the idea of divorce slowly or pull it off like a Band-Aid? »

The Boy Scouts of America may soon give local sponsors the authority to decide whether to allow gays as scouts and leaders.

From The Associated Press via The Washington Post:

…Under the change now being discussed, the different religious and civic groups that sponsor Scout units would be able to decide for themselves how to address the issue — either maintaining an exclusion of gays, as is now required of all units, or opening up their membership.

Gay-rights activists were elated at the prospect of change, sensing another milestone to go along with recent advances for same-sex marriage and the end of the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

However, Southern Baptist leaders — who consider homosexuality a sin — were furious about the possible change and said its approval might encourage Southern Baptist churches to support other boys’ organizations instead of the BSA.

Monday’s announcement of the possible change comes after years of protests over the no-gays policy — …

Continue reading Boy Scouts may soon give sponsors authority to allow gay leaders, members: Do you agree? »

In Japan, school lunches are made from scratch, the food is locally grown and there is no mystery meat. The children help serve it and the parents even ask for the recipes.

From The Washington Post:

“Schools in Japan, by contrast, give children the sort of food they’d get at home, not at a stadium. The meals are often made from scratch. They’re balanced but hearty, heavy on rice and vegetables, fish and soups. The meals haven’t changed much in four decades.

“Mealtime is a scene of communal duty: In both elementary and middle schools, students don white coats and caps and serve their classmates. Children eat in their classrooms. They get identical meals, and if they leave food untouched, they are out of luck: Their schools have no vending machines. Barring dietary restrictions, children in most districts can’t bring food to school, either, until they reach high school.

“Japan’s system has an envious payoff — its kids are relatively healthy. According to government data, …

Continue reading What can American schools learn from Japan’s healthy school lunches from scratch? »

When a husband or boyfriend refuses to wear a condom or hides a woman’s birth control pills that’s a form of abuse called reproductive coercion, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists wants doctors to screen for it.

From USA Today:

“…In studies cited by the committee, “birth control sabotage” was reported by 25% of teen girls with abusive partners and by 15% of women who were physically abused. Some men go as far as to pull out a woman’s intrauterine device (IUD) or vaginal contraceptive ring, the committee says.

” ‘Often, it’s about taking away choices, taking away freedom, control and self-esteem,’ says Rebekah Gee, an obstetrician and gynecologist in New Orleans and assistant professor at Louisiana State University. She did not work on the opinion, but has studied the problem….

“The opinion says obstetricians and gynecologists can help women in these relationships by directing them to agencies and hotlines that help abused women, including the

Continue reading Doctors should ask women about reproductive coercion »

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced today that women would be allowed to serve in combat roles in the military.

According to The Associated Press, this move opens up 230,000 battlefront posts – many in Army and Marine infantry units. It will be up military service chiefs to recommend and defend whether women should be excluded from more demanding or deadly positions such as Seals or Delta Force.

Currently women could fly the helicopter supporting a infantry battalion or provide medical aid to that battalion but couldn’t actually serve as an infantryman.

Right now women “comprise about 14 percent of the 1.4 million active military personnel. More than 280,000 women have been sent to Iraq, Afghanistan or to jobs in neighboring nations in support of the wars. Of the more than 6,600 U.S. service members who have been killed, 152 have been women.,” according The AP.

From The AP:

“Our military is more capable, and our force is more powerful, when we use all of the great diverse …

Continue reading Should women/mothers accept combat roles in the military? »

Babble.com featured an interesting slideshow of kid-friendly ways to serve 25 super foods. Click the link to see their show but I made a list of how we eat some of the super foods included.

Oatmeal – My mother always made it from the big box and rarely from the little packets. We were only allowed to use honey it in. My kids will eat oatmeal with no arguments but it has to have sugar in it.

Greek Yogurt – Walsh and Lilina will eat it but Rose won’t. They like the one where you have the side cup to dip into for the blueberry or honey.

Winter Squash – They will eat roasted with salt and olive oil.

Skin milk – They will drink plain or with stuff. Rose loves to make her own smoothies in the blender with fruit, yogurt and milk.

Salmon – They love it grilled or baked in parchment. The cheer for salmon.

Spinach – They will eat in salads but I have heard it’s less nutritious that way. (Is that true?) I have never served in cooked because I always hated it that way.

Eggs – They …

Continue reading Need some kid-friendly ways to serve super foods? »

A new study out of Germany found that one in three people felt more dissatisfied with their lives after visiting Facebook.

The researchers say that people are envious of their “friends” leaving them feeling lonely, frustrated or angry. They say Facebook is an unprecedented way to compare your life to other people’s lives.

They said people often leave or reduce their use of the site. (I wonder if that makes them feel better or once the seed is planted, it’s there?)

From Reuters:

“Researchers from Humboldt University and from Darmstadt’s Technical University found vacation photos were the biggest cause of resentment with more than half of envy incidents triggered by holiday snaps on Facebook.

Social interaction was the second most common cause of envy as users could compare how many birthday greetings they received to those of their Facebook friends and how many “likes” or comments were made on photos and postings.

“Passive following triggers invidious emotions, with users …

Continue reading Does Facebook make you feel less satisfied with your life? »

My 9-year-old had a 101.7-degree fever over the weekend and of course wanted to just lie in bed and play on the iPad.

However, the 5-year-old grabbed it to play next without anyone wiping it off. When I walked in the room and noticed I told her to go wash her hands with soap while I disinfected the iPad with a barely damp Clorox wipe.

So the question is: Do you think touch-screen electronics are spreading germs – possibly the flu – faster through your house than say touching the remote control or common door handles?

Continue reading Is the iPad spreading germs faster than other common items in your house? »

My beloved and respected uncle died last week and all the aunts, uncles and cousins converged on Philadelphia for the funeral.

I flew in Friday and my parents and brother drove up.  (Our spouses and kids didn’t go due to school and for me cost.) My original family (me, my parents and my brother) shared a hotel room just as we used to do when we were kids.

I think it’s always interesting to see how relationships have evolved or not evolved over time.  I find it very comforting and fun (even though it was a very SAD occasion) to be with my original foursome and to be with my cousins.

Before the trip, I was trying to convince my mom to switch hotels to be with all my cousins, and I discussed it with her twice to no avail. I finally called in the big guns – my brother. He called me back five minutes later and said go ahead and switch the hotels. He joked when he called back: She always loved me more.

Just like old times my brother and I sad in the backseat of the car complaining …

Continue reading Do you resume childhood roles when back with family? »