I think women are programed to hate housework thanks to Cinderella! Think about it, the girl's chores are a form of punishment. When her "happily ever after" comes, she is whisked off to a castle and never has to scrub floors again! Boy, if that isn't misleading....
When your prince swept you off your feet, did he come complete with an army of merry-maids? Me either. The princess of this palace still scrubs toilets, still sweeps floors, still sorts laundry.
One of the concepts I learned in college was something called "Social Marketing." In a nutshell, it's defined as making an unpopular behavior seem cool and accepted (i.e. wearing seatbelts or sunscreen). Well, I'm putting a twist on this concept and calling it "Mommy Marketing."
mommy: "If you are a good girl, maybe you can help me load the dishwasher today!"
child: "Oh wow, can I, can I?!"
okay, so maybe this is just wishful thinking
I'm going to give it a try anyway. When I read Cinderella to my kids, I will insert something like "...and Cinderella married the prince and was so happy to clean up after someone who loved and appreciated her."
...now that's a happy ending!
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