Want to Make Your Husband Happy? Try This! - Cloudmom

Hi everyone, Melissa here CloudMom. So they are busy over in England looking at gender equality and researchers at the University of Cambridge have just come out with a fascinating study which I can't believe saying that men are actually happier when they help out more around the house and perform and share household chores. So it's like you're gonna say, "Honey, help me out with this laundry. You don't really wanna be watching that Yankees game, you're gonna be happier." So I couldn't believe this and I actually told my husband about this and he was like, "What?" He thought it sounded crazy. So anyway, nine years of marriage under my belt and this just made me realize what works and what doesn't work for me when it comes to getting my husband to help out and I hope he's not watching this blog, but really honestly, here's what doesn't work first for me. "I do the kids activities, and I deal with the schools, and I deal with the camp forms and I deal with the food and I work". That does not work. Whenever I pull that card it totally backfires and I don't get any more help. Here's what works. My husband comes home, I'm like, "Honey, thank you so much for working so hard for our family everyday. It means a lot to me and I mean it. I mean it." Say that to your husband every night and throw in a few extra goodies and I promise your marriage will benefit, [chuckle] honestly. And then, when you have things you want your husband to do, don't just give him a list and say I need you to do this and this and this and I need you to do this and this now. One thing at a time, really, really discreet with a deadline. So there you are, "Honey, I just really appreciate this so much, I'm so busy. You're the best. I just need you to do the kids camp forms. They gotta be done by tomorrow. Can you do that for me?" And then you're done. If he takes two hours, this is your mouth. And when he's done, what do you say? "Thank you so much, you helped me so much. You're the best." That's it. This is my advice for getting your husband to pitch in more, unless you're married to one of these European guys in which case I guess you can write out a full list and not have to worry about it anymore. But anyway, I wanna hear from you about how things work in your marriage when it comes to sharing household chores. So please comment on this blog on CloudMom and you can also tweet me on Twitter @CloudMom. Hope you get some help tonight with household chores.