Happily Married With Kids
by Leslie Kaplan
Category: Family & Relationships

"Make Love Whenever Possible When Married With Children" is playful and poignant with spirited vignettes like "Seduce your spouse with humor," "Be a flasher," and "Experience the post-vasectomy sexual renaissance." Leslie Mancillas and Peg Melnik teamed up to write the book based on the following prescription program for staying sane within the madness of family life: 1. Be an opportunist. Make love whenever possible. 2. Date your spouse. Don't put off dating for two decades until your kids are conveniently in college. 3. Tend to your spouse. Even adults need to be nurtured. 4. Plan for chaos. 5. Become a top-flight negotiator. Marriage is one long, unwieldy negotiation. Keep closing the deal. 6. Keep close to your spirit. Find ways to nurture yourself. The co-authors firmly believe couples are living their most challenging years when they have children under their roof. Parents inhabit a different world than do those without children, one ruled by the needs of small people. The sheer responsibility that comes with parenthood can, over time, complicate even the healthiest marriage. While the divorce rate in America is at an astonishing 62 percent, staying happily married with children is not an insurmountable challenge as long as you realize it requires a kind of vigilance. It requires perspective, insight and, most importantly, the energy to keep a strong connection with your spouse. The authors use wisdom and wit to detail valuable tips drawn from their own experiences both positive and negative. The book is broken into six chapters, with a series of vignettes approximately one to three pages in length. Some of the more visual scenes from the book include playing hooky with your spouse, renewing marriage vows at Notre Dame and absent-mindedly driving to work with a plateful of cookies flying off the roof of the car, littering the road. Mancillas and Melnik's 100-page survival guide will no doubt be a compelling read, the best-selling bible for the married-with-kids crowd.