ABSTRACT
Maurine and Dennis Land have three children and are very much in love. Ben and Amy Carter also have three children and they, too, are in love, but at this point the similarity ends. The Lands and the Carters have chosen to organize their marriages in very different ways. Dennis Land has been intensively involved in the caring and nurturing of his children since Maurine returned from the hospital with their first child. In fact Dennis normally spent several hours a day feeding, changing, and playing with his young son and, more recently, with the couple’s two young daughters. But Dennis’ domestic involvement extends beyond child care. As Maurine explained, “During the week I watch the kids while Dennis does his plumbing work. When Dennis returns from work in the evening, he watches the kids while I work at the restaurant. On weekends we catch up on the housework. Dennis and I enjoy working around the house together. That’s a special time for us.”
