When you got married, both of you had preconceived ideas about how you would act and what you would do around the house. In most cases, the wife learns how to be a wife and mother by watching her mother, and the husband learns how to be a husband and dad by watching his father. The problems come when the perceived role relationships differ between husband and wife.
Think about your parents and the roles they fulfilled while you were growing up. Compare them to the roles of your mate’s parents. How do they differ? How are they similar? Is there a clear differentiation between their roles, or could they move into and out of roles as times and circumstances changed? What did they do to make family life pleasant? What did they do to make family life dreary?
In this podcast, Dr. Ross points out that everyone in your home has a role to play, and those roles are not narrowly defined in western society. Men can do women’s work, and women can do men’s work. This way of operating a family is fraught with both great opportunities and unpleasant obstacles.
How you and your mate structure the roles and responsibilities of your marriage will determine the happiness and efficiency of your household.
The podcast is 9 minutes long.
