There was an interesting research report from last week that suggested that kids whose mom worked the night shift were worse off, developmentally than peers whose mothers worked traditional shifts. What really caught my eye was the researcher's best-bet explanation: children in these environments are less likely to be in daycare and more likely to be in non-maternal relative care for portions of the day. Here's the money quote:

"This does not suggest that father care or relative care is not good," said Han, who is based at Columbia University in New York. "It rather suggests that these children whose mothers work nonstandard hours may miss out on an opportunity."

Now I appreciate the shifting of blame away from dads in the quote, but it's hard to read the story without coming to the conclusion that there's somehow something lacking about fathercare.

Also making the rounds: Judith Warner penned a column of sound op-ed advice (date your wife!) in the New York Times for Valentine's Day. Would have been wonderful, except that she seems to place the blame for the rise in unhappy marriages on the kids. (" Is our national romance with our children sucking the emotional life out of our marriages?," she asks.) She does quote one expert, who seems to link martial conflict not to the rise of kid-centeredness, but to work-related stress. From where I sit, its the bosses of America -- not the kids -- who are most responsible for the general stress and time-suck and loss of romance in the 21st century. But what do I know? I still date my wife.