For many decades, conventional wisdom told us that when it came to child development, mothers were the most important parent. Fathers, apparently, weren’t good for much more than piggybacks, reading an occasional bedtime story, and, of course, discipline. Researchers who studied child development bought into that conventional wisdom and rarely bothered to investigate whether dads...Continue reading
Dear Mr. Dad: My wife and I are in the midst of what’s turning out to be a rather unpleasant divorce. We can’t stand to be anywhere near each other and conversations are pretty much impossible. The only thing we agree on (besides that we shouldn’t be married anymore) is that our kids need both...Continue reading
It is natural to dismiss dangers that are rarely seen. That has become our present circumstance with respect to many devastating infectious diseases. Since medicine has made significant progress against its former greatest adversaries, complacent beliefs have flourished. Surprisingly, a new malady has arisen and we are now suffering from a growing amnesia regarding the...Continue reading
“Less is more.” Is there a better description for the modernist architectural style of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe? His Barcelona Pavilion is one of the world’s most exquisite examples of architecture as sculpture, akin to the Parthenon in Greece, or the Pantheon in Rome. It simply works. It also reminds us of how complex “less”...Continue reading
Gendered expectations in marriage are not just bad for women, they are also bad for men, according to a new study by University of Connecticut (UConn) sociologists. Using data on the same nationally representative group of married men and women over 15 years, the authors examined the relationship between men’s and women’s relative income contributions...Continue reading
Truth be told. No fairy tales here. Gotta believe that biology always wins. I was reminded of this as Kevin Richardson, the Backstreet Boys star of our movie If I Could Tell You, recently revealed his own infertility journey. Given his great performance in the film, it’s no surprise he came into it guns loaded with emotional ammo. Sex...Continue reading
As a father, there is nothing more difficult than watching your child suffer. In 2001, my son was just 15 months old and very, very sick. He would spike 106-degree fevers twice a day. He literally couldn’t move a muscle because of the pain. He spent a month in an intensive care unit before they...Continue reading
How do you solve tough problems? Maybe you pick at them until they’re gone. Maybe you dance around them until they’re contained. One thing I like to do is to step away and examine them as an outsider, from a completely different perspective. In other words, get out of the trees and look at the whole...Continue reading
American households have made dramatic changes in the past 50 years when it comes to the role of fathers. According to Pew Research Center, in 1960, 70% of households had a father who worked and a mother stayed home. Now it is more common to see both parents working and sharing responsibilities in the home....
