They might not be carved on stone tablets but these rules, if followed, will keep fellas in the good books and out of the nagging line, says Justine Dure.

Thou shalt remember important dates
And we don’t mean the Test cricket dates or his mother’s birthday.
It hurts our feelings when he forgets anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, our birthday.
His failure to remember makes us think he doesn’t care, whereas remembering gives him the perfect chance to show us just how much he does.
So men, it’s fairly simple. Put it on your calendar in big red letters and, a few days before, make sure you put a reminder in your phone to allow time to plan the spoils. We will appreciate it and you will be rewarded.

Thou shalt not look at other women
If we’re with a man, then we expect (and deserve) his full attention.
While we understand that you cannot change a man, this should be one of the first habits he drops when you start seeing him. Looking is normal, but looking a lot is a problem.

Thou shalt practice bathroom etiquette
We like to think of our bathroom as a haven of retreat. Men should respect this sacred place and this means:
# no using our favorite (not to mention expensive) products- buy your own.
# No leaving the toilet seat up. Put the seat and lid down. It’s a simple request but one so many men struggle to uphold.
#No leaving of wet towels on the floor. The towel rack is there for a reason.
It’s often the little things we break up over, so you’re wise trying to fix them early on.

Thou shalt not spend longer getting ready than us
Part of the illusion of being a woman is that magical moment when we step from our boudoir polished to perfection from top-to-toe, wearing that special dress with killer heels.
Should he still be in the shower, having a shave or trimming his toenails, he’ll kill said magic.
Remember men, it’s the woman’s prerogative to keep the man waiting. Sure, we want you to take pride in your appearance, but anything over our beauty-boosting regime and you’re entering Narcissus territory. And say something. If you just look us up and down and don’t comment, we’ll think you don’t think we look good.

Thou shalt question our…
#Shoe habit
Asking in exasperation, “Do you really need another pair?” while staring south of our ankles is not the way to get out of this alive.
#Hairdo
Yes, it might have looked better on Posh, but that doesn’t mean we need him to tell us.
#Style
Men, we understand fashion. He lo should like the fact that you take pride in your appearance and be proud to have you on his arm.
This is of course, cuts both ways in a relationship. If you don’t like certain outfits that your partner wears, don’t make a negative comment. Instead, tell them how gorgeous they look when they wear something you do like.

Thou shalt not mock PMS
Emotional outburst or not, it’s just plain rude for men to immediately assume that just because a woman is acting a certain way it is her time of the month.
Even when our men know that is the case, saying so is sure way to stoke the fire.
The majority of men aren’t experts when it comes to our cycle – and it’s common to fear the unknown. Take away the mystery – tell him you’re feeling a little tender and apologize if he finds you’re being more snappy than usual. Girls, don’t use him as an emotional punching bag.

Thou shalt not practice DIY if not skilled in said department
While we love able to do things ourselves, we still love a man doing things around the house, be it putting us shelves, wiring plugs or even mowing the lawn.
But there’s nothing worse than a job half-finished or, worse, when he ransacks our space with the over-confident use of tools.

Thou shalt not ignore the finer points of grooming
While we want men to be quicker than us in the bathroom (and respect its domain), we still appreciate a well-turned out man.
There’s a myriad grooming products available to men in today’s world, from lip balm to eye cream and soothing shaving tonic to brow gel, so there’s really no reason for your fella to feel uninformed.

Thou shalt share the load
The days of women tackling the housework and having dinner waiting for hubby when he returns form a hard days work are long gone.
You’re both hard-working professionals, you split the cost of your home, therefore it’s only fair that the chores are split equally too.

Thou shalt never say…
#”What have you done to your hair?”
#”They both look the same to me.”
#”Do you think you should be eating that?”
While it’s inevitable they’re going to say the wrong thing from time to time – hey, we’re not perfect either simple these common sense dictates that these comments are likely to be met with contempt and disdain.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 6:51 pm and is filed under romance and relationship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.