Ladies, I've got good news . . . and bad news.
A combined AOL Health and Cookie Magazine poll says 32 percent of dads have cheated. Yes, that's the bad news. So what's the good news? It's not the sex. Researcher Gary Neuman, author of the new book The Truth About Cheating: Why Men Stray and What You Can Do To Prevent It, told Newsweek it's about an emotional disconnect. Explains it all, doesn't it? You have kids, and you disconnect . . . sound about right to me.
The fact that new parents aren't having a heck of a lot of sex isn't new news. I wrote about it myself for Babble a few months ago - and my husband got a good chuckle out of comments about the article over on AOL that pretty much gave him the green light to visit greener pastures. FYI: he's still here, but he appreciates your concern.
Remember, Neuman says, it ain't about sex. "The No. 1 reason was feeling underappreciated. It was a lack of thoughtful and kind gestures," he claims. He spent two years studying 200 guys - 100 who cheated, 100 who kept it in their pants. Almost half - 48 percent - said they won't cheat if they feel appreciated. Another 12 percent said they're going to cheat no matter what (how nice of them).
By comparison, Cookie and AOL chatted up 60,000 guys with at least one child - all online. And, yup, they all want sex. A quarter whined they're getting it as little as once a month, and 79 percent said they'd like it a whole lot more. But the number who would be willing to cheat, even if they could hide it from their wives, is still well above half at 69 percent. Which jives with what Neuman found - they might be unhappy about their sex lives, but they're keeping both their pants and emotions zipped up.
So what's the secret to keeping him at home? That's up to you - and him. If he's one of that 12 percent (see above), I say good riddance to bad rubbish. But if he's like most guys out there, he's going to get a handle on the fact that you just don't feel like it after a long day of velcroing shoes, mopping up milk and finding Blue's clues. So go ahead, tell him you don't feel like it - but at least tell him you're sorry.
Image: eHow
Related Posts:
So He Delivered His Own Kid, Should We Give Him a Quarter?
La. Legislator Says: Let's Pay the Poor to Stop Making Babies
Too Dumb to Parent: Part 2
Nanny 911 - Back On Our Side of the Pond
