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Mothers, stop serving your sons!

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A few weeks ago, John Hoxie posted a story on his Facebook page titled "I do not help my wife". The post has been copied and republished like wildfire around the internet as scores of wives and husbands applaud and agree with his sentiments.


In the post Hoxie goes on to explain:

"I do not help my wife clean the house because I live here too and I need to clean it too.

I do not help my wife to cook because I also want to eat and I need to cook too.

I do not help my wife wash the dishes after eating because I also use those dishes.

I do not help my wife with her children because they are also my children and my job is to be a father."

And that's awesome for John. And his wife. Progressive, some might say, because this is not the norm. Which is why it's being shared so much. Because wives across the world are pointing at this and saying "See here! Look at this!" 

Why is it that this mental load is most often the responsibility of the woman? In the comments section one Lesley Chattaway had a good explanation and I think she's pretty much hit the nail on the head:

Now I can only speak from my own experience here when I say this type of mentality is rife, in the Muslim community at least. It's not that men force women to do the cooking and cleaning, but you will often find that mothers either don't encourage their sons to cook, clean and participate in the house, or they wait on them hand and foot, perpetuating the idea that this is women's work.

The idea that men "help" their wives at home means that the woman is mainly responsible for seeing to the household chores. But to be honest, every one who lives in the house should contribute to its upkeep.

We need to teach our sons that washing the dishes is not women's work. That taking care of the kids is not babysitting. And that contributing to the household is a task for every member of the household. If we as mothers and fathers don't set this example for our kids, how can we expect this cycle to end?

Do your husbands and sons contribute to the household chores? Send us your thoughts to chatback@parent24.com and we could publish them.

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