Whenever the phrase "mother-son bonding" turns up in a national newspaper these days, I take notice. This one jumped out at me from an article headlined "My Sons, the Sous-Chefs" which ran on the cover of yesterday's NYT Dining section. The author writes about handing over responsibility for one family meal a week to her boys, ages 14 and 10.
I liked the article as much for what it didn't say as what it did. It didn't talk about boys cooking as if it was a novelty. It didn't say that these guys would grow up to be great husbands. It didn't apologize for the fact that a working woman shouldn't have to come home and wait hand and foot on the rest of the family.
It was just business as usual of a mom teaching her kids some responsiblity (and not just cooking, but balanced, nutritious and tasty meals were expected). I asked myself if the Times would have featured this piece if it was a mother matter-of-factly expecting her daughters to help with the cooking. Probably not - I think it was the fact that they were guys which added to its perceived charm. But kudos for the author for not making that the point of the piece.
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