6 Valuable Parenting Lessons You Can Learn from a Man

Mothers worry. It comes with the job. However, women often approach parenting as though "Perfectionism Required" is the first item listed in the job description, and that increases the worrying and anxiety tenfold. I will admit there was a day when I became so tense over the chaos in my home that I actually paged my husband with a 9-1-1 simply because I felt I needed to contact him immediately to let him know that it was unacceptable not to replace the toilet paper after he used the last of it. His response: "I don't understand what the big deal is. It's in the linen closet." Sure, but the linen closet is upstairs and I'm already on the toilet! If you can believe it (and I'm sure you can), he then matter-of-factly suggested I store the toilet paper somewhere different in the future—as if its storage location is the problem.

The "roll with it" attitude that men often maintain frustrates the other half from time to time. A woman's more anxious, emotional approach can make her mate a bit crazy as well. In our defense however, someone has to maintain a nervous system that is able to execute the escape plan with calm hysteria and a strategically stored whistle if the house is on fire. Nancy Drew said it best: "If worry were an effective weight-loss program, women would be invisible."

As much as it pains me to admit it, there is merit in the male approach as it appears to allow one to maintain an emotional state with peaks and valleys far less dramatic than those of the newest roller coaster at Six Flags. So, as long as there are at least two diapers in the house and the collection agencies aren't calling, I personally am trying to let more things than usual slide off my back in the high-strung department.