list of boyfriend rules

[rhubarbodendron]

according to the Huffington Post, a 6- and a 9-year-old set up the following 30 rules for boyfriends.

I wholeheartedly agree to most of them. Maybe it'd be an inspiration for some guys, particularly with Valentine's Day being so close.
What about you, ladies? What would you cancel or add to the list?

List of boyfriend rules:

1) nice handwriting
2) cuteness
3) likes parents
4) not living with parents
5) good manners
6) good artist
7) dresses well
8) takes you to nice place
9) nice place
10) likes children / wants children
11) nice jewellry
12) listens
13) don't pick your nose
14) no kissing on first date
15) marry someone who respects you
16) smart
17) good cook
18) has a good job
19) always happy
20) clean
21) respect different religions
22) last name not weird
23) very fun
24) makes you laugh
25) eats healthy
26) takes care of baby
27) doesn't tattle tale
28) brushes teeth and flosses
29) likes YOUR job
30) takes care of pet

while I could do without many of these, I consider numbers 5, 12, 13, 16, 20, 28 and 29 essential for a working relationship.
A weird last name wouldn't be much of a hindrance since nowadays (at least in my country) it's no prob at all for the husband to take on the name of his wife.

 

[Kemaiku]

1) nice handwriting

I don't see how this really matters about anything. I love writing, I write every single day, keep journals, but have osteoarthritis so my handwriting is not neat and never can be. Am I to be dumped for that?

2) cuteness

Judging the relationship on looks, ok.

3) likes parents

Unless the parents are assholes.

4) not living with parents

Depends on their financial situation, and age range.

5) good manners

Obvious.

6) good artist

What? thats again a very vague and optional thing.

7) dresses well

Obvious.

8) takes you to nice place

Nice place? extremely vague.

9) nice place

What?

10) likes children / wants children

Nope. A lot of people don't, I don't, again not suitable for everyone.

11) nice jewellry

As in he wears it? you were it? superficial again.

12) listens

Obvious.

13) don't pick your nose

Blindingly obvious. Then again plenty of women pick theirs so same goes for them.

14) no kissing on first date

Again, intimacy is dependent on the people involved, what they feel comfortable with.

15) marry someone who respects you

Stupidly obvious.

16) smart

People can't choose their IQ, and "smart" is rather vague.

17) good cook

Obvious.

18) has a good job

In this economy you take what you can get.

19) always happy

That's asking a lot, so depressed or mentally ill people aren't ok then?

20) clean

Obvious, several of these could be lumped under "good hygiene".

21) respect different religions

Atheists are out then?

22) last name not weird

That's incredibly unfair and judgemental.

23) very fun

"Fun"? well yeah we were all going to go for the killjoys before that.

24) makes you laugh

Obvious.

25) eats healthy

Depends if the woman does herself anyway.

26) takes care of baby

Again with the baby thing, what if they don't want children.

27) doesn't tattle tale

Jeeze, this really was written by children, this could be lumped in with basic respect.

28) brushes teeth and flosses

Again hygiene.

29) likes YOUR job

What if she doesn't either?

30) takes care of pet

What if neither want pets.

Seriously, a rather useless list. What was any use at all was common sense.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Jeez, Chem, it's probably just as well you don't want kids. I can just imagine your 6-year-old daughter bringing you a list like that and you mercilessly shredding every point right in front of her, right before you send her to her room with an admonition to "quit being so stupidly obvious."

 

[Kemaiku]

Jeez, Chem, it's probably just as well you don't want kids. I can just imagine your 6-year-old daughter bringing you a list like that and you mercilessly shredding every point right in front of her, right before you send her to her room with an admonition to "quit being so stupidly obvious."

Them making up the list, fair enough they're 5. An adult endorsing it was what I had more of a problem with. A lot of it is rather obvious, redundant or excluding people.

Of course I'd use a completely different tone if I was speaking to them, but then I never spend time with kids so it hardly matters.

 

[Count Zero]

Some things on the list rub me the wrong way, too, especially the more superficial ones and the ones people have no choice over.

All in all, they seem to be rather picky.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Nothing beats the list I saw on another forum where this woman had over 200 particular points she was looking for in a potential boyfriend. These weren't "nice to have," they were absolute requirements. It was down to things like what kind of jeans he wore, how much he weighed, allowable skin blemishes, acceptable hairstyles, etc. I found it a bit worrisome that someone would create such a list in the first place. Someone like that is either going to die alone or have to seriously adjust their expectations.

The list in this thread is generally reasonable by comparison. Some of the points are pretty judgmental (last name, wtf?) but I assume most people want a mate who is attractive, employed, respectful, and doesn't live like a slob.

 

[Shaytan]

Some things on the list rub me the wrong way, too, especially the more superficial ones and the ones people have no choice over.

Or just the simple fact of making a list. Or the fact that the list describes the most boring person on earth ?

 

[Pingfah]

I'm not down with the no kissing on the first date thing.

 

[Mary Ann]

Some things on the list rub me the wrong way, too, especially the more superficial ones and the ones people have no choice over.

Or just the simple fact of making a list. Or the fact that the list describes the most boring person on earth ?

Spot on!

 

[JoeZhang]

1) nice handwriting - My handwriting is terrible and getting worse
2) cuteness - ocassionally
3) likes parents - I get on well with my wife's parents
4) not living with parents - not for a number of years
5) good manners - Average
6) good artist - Piss artist maybe
7) dresses well - I'd like to think so
8) takes you to nice place - That's a yes
9) nice place - yep
10) likes children / wants children - Yes/No
11) nice jewellry - I wear nice watches if that counts
12) listens - when it suits
13) don't pick your nose - not in public
14) no kissing on first date - depends on context
15) marry someone who respects you - hope so.
16) smart - I'm well qualified but that's not the same as smart...
17) good cook - by UK standards, yes.
18) has a good job - by UK standards, yes
19) always happy - nope
20) clean - yep
21) respect different religions - I don't open disrespect them...
22) last name not weird - don't think so
23) very fun - I get by...
24) makes you laugh - I do...
25) eats healthy - yes.
26) takes care of baby - as long as the parents promise to pick up at reasonable hout
27) doesn't tattle tale - nobody likes a grass
28) brushes teeth and flosses - yep
29) likes YOUR job - Yes.
30) takes care of pet - no pets, no children.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I wonder about the "nice handwriting" one. It is a proven fact that doctors have the worst handwriting on the planet. So are these girls saying they wouldn't want to marry a doctor?

 

[Count Zero]

Well, I'd only marry the Doctor!

Some things on the list rub me the wrong way, too, especially the more superficial ones and the ones people have no choice over.

Or just the simple fact of making a list. Or the fact that the list describes the most boring person on earth ?

Yeah, that, too. But they're children.

I'm not down with the no kissing on the first date thing.

Neither am I if it's a rule. You should do what you feel comfortable with.

 

[Mr Awe]

1) nice handwriting
<snip>
30) takes care of pet

What if neither want pets.

Seriously, a rather useless list. What was any use at all was common sense.

31) Doesn't dissect a children's list in excrutiating detail that is obviously just meant for fun!

Mr Awe

 

[Pingfah]

I'm not down with the no kissing on the first date thing.

Neither am I if it's a rule. You should do what you feel comfortable with.

I think you should have sex at the start of the first date. Start as you mean to go on.

 

[sidious618]

I'm not down with the no kissing on the first date thing.

I was surprised to find this is a rule some people have. I was on a date and the woman told me at the end she doesn't kiss on the first date. I figured that meant she just didn't like me, but she ended up wanting to see me again and I was like, "Oh, that's a weird rule to have." Whatever floats their boat, I guess, but I think ending the first date with a kiss (or two or seven) is a great way to get a relationship started.

 

[Kirby]

Well I'm left handed, and it's been my experience that it's rare (but not impossible) for lefties to have 'nice' handwriting. I read something a long time ago about this; since lefties drag their hand across what they just wrote, everything gets put out of alignment since you can't see what you just wrote, or something like that. My handwriting isn't horrible, but it's certainly not as neat as right handers. Looking at the people that I know, left handers always have worse handwriting that right handers.

 

[MacLeod]

It's a list by a couple of children take if for what it is. We could all do a list of what we want in a boy/girlfriend. But surely the only thing that needs to be on the list is 'To accept each other for who and what they are'

 

[Mary Ann]

Well I'm left handed, and it's been my experience that it's rare (but not impossible) for lefties to have 'nice' handwriting. I read something a long time ago about this; since lefties drag their hand across what they just wrote, everything gets put out of alignment since you can't see what you just wrote, or something like that. My handwriting isn't horrible, but it's certainly not as neat as right handers. Looking at the people that I know, left handers always have worse handwriting that right handers.

Yep. Another southpaw here, and without lined paper everything I write slopes downward towards the right as I can't see what I've already written. Still, it's better for me than for my parents' generation, when left-handed children were forced to become right-handed. I'm convinced my aunt was born left-handed because she's always had poor hand-eye coordination and her handwriting is atrocious.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Some of the points are pretty judgmental (last name, wtf?).

When you're six and nine, name-based insults are like the ultimate schoolyard slam, so it's probably thinking along those lines.

How many young lives has Shirley Shirley bo-burly banana-fana fo-firley Ellis ruined with that damn Name Game song she wrote? How many?

 

[Amaris]

I only have 3 rules:

1. Good Hygiene
2. A Kind Intelligence
3. A Need for Snuggles

These young ladies are over-thinking it.