Mama's Boys

I'm listening to the radio and they're talking to a guy, 29, whose mother comes over and cleans his apartment.

It reminded me of one of my Jazzercise students who does everything for her 17-year-old son — cooks, cleans, laundry. He'll be a senior in the fall and is looking at colleges. He's decided that he wants to attend a school close to home.

LOL.

I told her he doesn't want to be far from home because he needs her to do his laundry. She laughed. He's her only child and maybe she likes doing things for him. But she wants him to go away for college — far away — so that he can learn to become independent.

This young man will be a senior in the fall. It's not too late to teach him to do his own laundry or cook his own meals. His future wife will be grateful. (lol)

I don't know. There are men who have their clothes laundered by a service, have housekeeping or cleaning ladies and grab McDonald's for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and order take out for dinner. They don't see the need to learn any of those skills. Those with less cash may take their laundry to their girlfriend and stop by mom's for a meal.

I have a friend whose husband told her when they were dating that the kitchen was her domain and he wasn't going to cook a thing (she also did his laundry when they were dating). When she travels she has to take their two kids with her because he refuses to "keep" them while she's gone. They've been married 15 years.

Now don't get me wrong, I respect an individual couple's "system." They may have an arrangement that works best for their household and is good for them, to each his own. 

Maybe girls are just raised differently. My student told me that growing up she learned how to clean and do her own laundry. But she's not teaching her son those same skills. Interesting...

It just made me wonder: Are we raising our boys to be the kind of men we would want to marry?

Any thoughts on this? What's been your experience? What are some things you desire in a mate? Would it matter if he didn't know how to cook or clean or do his own laundry?

holla...