Domestic Work Can Keep Love Alive For Couples

A typical housewife's day starts and ends with the same thing: household chores.

A full time housewife wakes up early to prepare breakfast and then she makes sure everybody eats well. When the hubby and the children are off to work and to school, she cleans the house and does the laundry.

A housewife's day is either spent tending her garden or buying groceries. Then she hurries home and prepares dinner for the family. Dinner is the time for conversation with the family. After washing the dishes, the housewife tucks everybody in bed and then she can do things that she enjoys - like reading or needle work. The next day is spent following the same routine.

A working mother, on the other hand, is not less of a housewife just because she spends the day in the office. A working mom just needs to plan her day ahead so she can work and at the same time perform all the household chores.

A housewife, full time or working, can only do so much before she finds out that she is already at the end of her wits. A housewife who does all of the household chores will have very little time for her husband or her children. If she has extra time she is probably too tired to enjoy the extra hours.

There are housewives lucky enough to have husbands who share the household chores. In marriage, sharing is a manifestation of the couple's commitment to honor and care for each other. But this is the ideal setting.

In reality, the sharing of domestic chores has become one of the sources of conflict between spouses. Research will show that housewives are mainly responsible for house work. However, a little help from the other spouse would be a great help.

The arguments most couples have start out with the wife complaining about having so much to do for the family that she no longer has time for herself. This is usually the phase when the wife is already burned out. When the husband hears this, he counters by saying he is also too tired and that doing the household chores is not his responsibility

Due consideration should be given to husbands who work and whose wives stay home the whole day. In this case his earnings are the husband's contribution to the household. The wife, whose sole contribution to the family is her house work, should do her part and not complain.

The present economic situation however has forced both husband and wife to work and contribute to the family income. In this situation, both spouses are expected to share in the household chores.

Most husbands complain that their wives no longer have time for them. Many housewives are so busy with their daily mundane tasks that they forget how to have a good time.

Surveys show that sharing in the household work can be less stressful and depressing for both spouses. When the household chores are divided, there is more time for the spouses to enjoy each other's company.

Among the most common household chores include buying groceries, disposing of garbage, meal preparation, care of the children and laundry. Husbands who want to ease their housewives' burden can choose a task they are most comfortable with.

An offer to help with the household chore will not only brighten the other spouse's day, but in return, she will be extra nice and caring, not only to the husband, but also to the children.

Reasons why men are hesitant to do household chores:
1. Cultural influence-Most cultures tend to be patriarchal where men play the dominant role. Because of this, men look at household chores as something below them are relegated only to women.

2. Gender-bias-The way children are raised is responsible for how they turn out as adults and how they look at their role in society. There are men who were raised with the traditional idea that a man's role is to earn money for the family and a woman's role is to take care of the household.

Women can encourage their spouses to share in the household work by talking to them about how heavy the workload is and that any help would be appreciated. It would also help if women would specify the exact task she wants assistance with so that the men will not be left guessing,