For decades, the leading cause of divorce in America has been money. Financial crisis can be triggered by any number of things: emergencies, poor planning, and differing opinions on how and where to spend to name a few. These crises have ruined countless marriages, but a new more sinister problem is taking over. The question, “What’s for dinner?”
The rise of Dinner Question Divorce (DQD) can be attributed to many factors. First of all, there are so many more dinner options today than ever in history. Couples have the option to cook at home, go to a restaurant, order online for pickup, and more recently DoorDash. Secondly, even if they can agree on how to do dinner, there is the nagging question of what. How many times have you heard (or participated in) a conversation like this:
"What are You going to have?" "I dunno. I was thinking maybe the chilled coal fired beet salad tacos." "Oh, dang. That's what I was thinking. Guess I'll get the squid ink gnocchi again." "No, you get the beet salad tacos, I'll just get the mullet gizzard bouillabaisse." "Really? I have to smell your smelly fish?" "I was also considering the quinoa and kale calzone with oat milk cheese." "No. It's fine, just get the beet salad tacos. I'll figure something out." The when the waiter gets there, one orders the beet salad tacos and the other says "I'm not hungry."
Another contributing factor to DQD is that the dinner decision has to be made every day. By contrast, financial decisions typically occur once or twice a month on payday. Since this triggering dinner discussion is a constant burden, psychologists suggest these simple strategies for reducing your odds of DQD:
1. Rather than asking what's for dinner, clearly state your desire for dinner - "I'd like fish nuggets for dinner. What say we go down to McMullets and grab a bite to eat?" 2. Know your partner - By understanding his or her preferences, you can suggest meal options rather than foisting an ominous open-ended question upon them. 3. Take turns - Alternate who makes the dinner decision each night. Of course, deciding who goes first may be a whole new issue.