British Expatriate Network

8) Are European men more domesticated than their US counter part???

I know I am, I vacuum everyday, do the washing on a regular basis and generally walk around saying "tsk, tsk"

My Dad was very domesticated, probably because my Mum wasn't.

My husband is quite good. He used to restack the dishwasher when I did dishes so now I ignore them. He picks my wet towels off the bathroom door whilst tsk-ing, refolds sheets that I folded and puts Things Back In Their Proper Place. He also rearranges the refrigerator and throws the fungi out. Doesn't vacuum much though and certainly doesn't dust.

I'm a bit of a slattern, if I think of it.

Edited to add, Husband is American, Dad was obviously British. Both neat freaks in some ways but ignore other household tasks completely.

Can't really compare American to European men very well.

I think that depends very much on the individual and upon their upbringing, to a degree. I can't generalize; I can only say my British ex was a great help around the house, whereas my American husband will help with cooking and he does almost all the DIY projects around the house, but I have to ask him if I want his help with housework (and he will willingly pitch in. ) )

All I can go off is my brothers and other male relatives and 1 ex(Brits) not domesticated at all any of them, and my BIL's and other male relatives(US) on my hubbies side who are all quite to very domesticated.

I have to say my hubby(US) was one of the most domesticated men I've ever met. He even owned his own sewing machine, and knew how to use it, before I met him. He could and would do everything from dishes to laundry to cooking(not great but passable) to vaccuuming and dusting.

When I speak to my Dad he is still amazed that I "have to do all my own cooking."

I'll take out the rubbish without prompting. I police the fridge for things that have gone off. I do most of the grocery shopping, and if there's any cooking done, chances are it's me doing it. I also mow, shovel snow and build/fix/ install things. But getting me to do the washing up or a bit of laundry is well nigh impossible if there are clean dishes or laundry left, and as for vacuuming you could count the number of times I've done it in five years on one hand. I've never dusted and don't really see the need. To be fair Her only vacuums and dusts when her mum is coming to visit. On the whole, I'd say I'm pretty domestic.

It's not really fair to compare British dads with American hubbies, is it?

I'd say my dad and my FIL are pretty similar - throughtout their working lives, they did very little at home, but now that they are older and retired, they do much more.

My husband is capable of doing a lot around the house, but nowhere near as well as me (sorry, not one to normally blow my own trumpet) - it's that old multi-tasking problem. But I like demarkation, so I don't really want him to be doing my jobs. He's very good with the children, though - he's the one to do the bedtime stories and take them to the park.

I'd say that most of my friends' (British) husbands are similar. An awful lot of them cook elaborate meals, which DH could never do. Does this mean that British men are better cooks than American men?

I really don't think it is an issue of British/American - it is more to do with age and background.

Both my parents worked and so both took responsibility for the domestic chores - although my father's cooking was often like that of Wendy Craig's character in Butterflies - which is why both I and my siblings learnt to cook at an early age.

Now we pretty much share, with little demarcation. In truth I do less, mainly because I'm there less. But years of living alone mean that I am quite capable of cooking, cleaning and doing laundry.

I'm good with some stuff but bad with others. I pretty much keep the kitchen running.....do most cooking, tidying up, washing up, grocery shopping. I also take out recycling and rubbish as well as doing most of the laundry. I rarely iron, vacuum or clean and never dust. My wife tends to slob around mostly but then will have the odd crazy day where she frantically cleans. It works pretty well overall as she does the things I don't.

In terms of DIY around the house, forget it, we're both useless but luckily, the father in law loves that stuff so we just get him over to do it for us. D