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However, while this book is written to women, they're not the only ones who will benefit by it. Your husband and children will also gain from making your house a place where everything doesn't get dumped on you. For example, consider the following facts from social science research:

• Women with partners who are actively involved in parenting and housework are happier and more satisfied with their marriages.

• Women who do the majority of housework and childcare in a family are more prone to physical illness and more likely to become depressed.

• Children score higher on academic tests in homes where dad is more involved.

• When children are raised in homes where dad isn't involved in housework, boys are often more anxious at three-and-a-half, and girls are less warm and less task-oriented.

• School age children who do housework with their fathers have more friends at school, and are more likely to get along well with others. They're also less likely to disobey teachers.

• Women are far more likely to think about divorce when they're married to men who neglect the house and kid.

• Men who regularly do housework are associated with wives who are more interested in sex.

• Children who do housework with fathers are less likely to be socially withdrawn or suffer from depression.

Why Should You Read 'The Lazy Husband?'
This book was inspired by the mothers in my practice, conversations with my women friends and colleagues, my own marriage, and the letters I receive on a regular basis from stressed-out moms. The ideas found here are based on my clinical experience, as well as my readings in the areas of psychology, sociology, anthropology, women's studies, and economics. My central goal in writing The Lazy Husband is to help you understand how to motivate your mate to be a better partner to you, and a better father to your children.

Since the book is written to you, we'll look at what you may have to change in yourself in order to enact changes in your partner. We'll discuss how society's messages about being a woman and mother may inhibit your bargaining power or position of authority in the household. As a way to understand how your belief-systems affect you and your partner, we'll examine traditional marriages, egalitarian marriages, and marriages that are somewhere in-between. We'll see how your experiences in childhood helped or hindered your capacity to be sufficiently entitled and assertive with your husband, how children changed your marriage for better and for worse, and how understanding those changes can prepare you to create a better reality. We'll look at different types of husbands and wives as a way to gain insight into the successes and obstacles that each of the personality types produce. We'll explore common differences between the sexes and see how those play out in your relationship. Finally, we'll give your husband his very own chapter for how he can contribute to your happiness, and increase the peace in the household. In other words, this book will take a big, bold look at how you can do less by getting your husband to do more.