Women are Not Men
Some of you will be familiar with the Freakonomics podcast (see also book of the same name). It’s basically an economist and a journalist (not Christians as far as I know) who talk about various subjects from the perspective of economics and sociology. In this podcast and transcript they discuss some fascinating statistics that demonstrate the differences between men and women.
Their basic point is that although women take up 57% of college places and the income gap is closing, “the variance between men and women on some dimensions is still large. In other words: women are not men.” Some differences:
- Women file only about 7.5% of all patents.
- 80 to 85 percent of the lightning fatalities across the United States are men.
- Males have almost 4 times higher drowning rates than females.
- Women are half as likely as men to become alcoholics, but twice as likely to have a phobia.
- Women are more likely to kill off a bad marriage—they file for roughly two-thirds of divorces.
- Females now outnumber males on Facebook and Twitter, and that’s been true just about across any aspect of the Internet you can imagine. Including much to many people’s surprise, online games.
- Men do, in fact, typically have more daily leisure time than women. In the U.S., it’s about 40 minutes a day.
It’s a helpful insight into how at least some in our culture view the differences between men and women and how they interpret them.
Why are millennial moms struggling with burnout?
Maybe your wife might be among them. Notice the three explanations for this and talk to your wife about some of the practical suggestions.
- Ask for help
- Say no
- Make a daily to-do list
- Draw boundaries
- Limit social media
- Schedule small tasks and complete them
- Call mom (or a sister, aunt, or someone “like a mom”)
- Find a mentor
- Put the family to work; you’re a team
- Take a break, daily and weekly
- Lower expectations
- Aim for excellence, not perfection
- Pray continually
- Memorize and apply Scripture
- Find a gospel-centered church and plug in
- Connect with other moms regularly
4 ways to raise kids who love Jesus and Parents, Take Note of the Spiritual Practices Common to Kids Who Flourish As Adults address the same topics. The latter article highlights:
The biggest factor was Bible reading. Children who regularly read the Bible while they were growing up were more likely to have a vibrant spiritual life once they became adults. This statistic doesn’t surprise me. God’s Word is powerful. The Bible lays out the great story of our world and helps us interpret our lives and make decisions within the framework of a biblical worldview. Bible reading is a constant reminder that we live as followers of God. Our King has spoken. He reigns over us. We want to walk in his ways.
You might want to use Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids to help get your kids started.
The Distinct Positive Advantage of a Good Dad
This was published in the Atlantic! The author highlights four ways that today’s dads tend to make distinctive contributions to their children’s lives:
- The power of play
- Encouraging risk
- Protecting his own
- Dad’s discipline