Outside the Beltway

NEWS FLASH

James Joyner · Tuesday, June 24, 2003 · 2 comments

Newsweek has a cover story with the startling news that, sometimes, couples with busy lives and a bunch of kids running around are too tired to have sex. In other developments, people who don’t get enough sleep are often tired at work and it gets hot in Arizona in the summertime.

The story looks to be rather poorly researched and makes some rather bizarre leaps.

It̢۪s difficult to say exactly how many of the 113 million married Americans are too exhausted or too grumpy to get it on, but some psychologists estimate that 15 to 20 percent of couples have sex no more than 10 times a year, which is how the experts define sexless marriage. And even couples who don̢۪t meet that definition still feel like they̢۪re not having sex as often as they used to.

So, we really have no idea how many people fall into this category, but some psychologists think there may be a lot of them. So, let’s write a story! Not only that, but couples report they aren’t getting it on “as often as they used to.” Not exactly cover story material here, folks.

This strikes me as rather incredible:

But some researchers say parents are now obsessed with their children in a way that can be unhealthy. Kids used to go to dance class or take piano lessons once a week; now parents organize an array of activities—French classes, cello lessons and three different sports—that would make an air-traffic controller dizzy. And do you remember being a child at a restaurant with your parents and having every adult at the table focus on your happiness? No? That’s probably because you weren’t taken along.

Let’s see, back in the dark ages when I was growing up my mom stayed at home with me roughly 24/7. Now, both parents work all day and then shunt their kids off to cello practice. Rather obsessive, I must admit. And, one out of one bloggers surveyed went to dinner with his parents pretty much every time they ate out–which was infrequently–and behaved himself lest he get a spanking.

Working parents who wish they could spend more time with their kids often compensate by dragging their brood everywhere with them. That means couples are sacrificing sleep and companionship.

Again, what is it people used to do? Tie their kids up in the back yard? Indeed, I’ll willingly postulate without any research whatsoever–just to make it fair to the Newsweek people–that parents used to spend far more time with their kids than they do now.