From Sheri & Bob Stritof,
Your Guide to Marriage.
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Ask yourself these questions to see if you fall into the category of a maternal gatekeeper.

Do you:

• Redo a task your husband just finished?

• Criticize the way your husband accomplished the task?

• Create unbending or unrealistic standards for him to meet?

• Demean or undermine his efforts at being an authority figure in your children's lives?

• Oversee the chores that your husband works on?

• Do all the organizing, delegating, planning, and scheduling in your home?

• Become reluctant to let go of some of your responsibilty for caring for your family?

• Need a great deal of validation of your identity as a mom, both from your husband and from outside your marriage?

• Believe in the traditional roles assigned to husbands and wives?

• View your husband as a helper when it comes to household chores and child-care responsibilities?

• Ask your husband for help and then give explicit directions on how to accomplish a task?

• Secretly feel thrilled when your husband shows some incompetence around the house or kids?

• Feel threatened or at a loss if your child gets hurt and runs to dad for comfort?

Maternal Gatekeeping - page 1
Questions for Husbands - page 3
Giving Up Control - page 4
Gatekeeping Study Press Release - page 5