I've had to teach all the men in my life to clean. I'm getting ahead of it with my son and asking him to pitch in now.

The author has asked both her son and husband to pitch in around the house more.

Courtesy of Ashley Archambault I'm tired of teaching all the men in my life to clean.

I wanted to break the cycle and get my son to start pitching in while he's still young.

My husband had to get on board and clean, too, to set a good example.

I was talking to a friend about cleaning recently.

He said that he cleans the family home and I pointed out that this is something of a rarity, even though it shouldn't be.

My friend said that he doesn't "help his wife" clean; it's his home, too, and therefore also his responsibility.

So, he cleans their home.

I explained how, in all my serious, live-in relationships , not one of my partners knew how to do any routine cleaning, such as cleaning the bathrooms or floors, until I showed them how.

I've had to show all of my previous partners how to clean As I thought more about cleaning and my past relationships, I realized that I really didn't want my own son to grow up not knowing how to clean his living space — or worse, not being a team player when it comes to household chores .

He is almost 13, and while we've been cleaning together for years already, he still thinks he shouldn't have to help.

Unfortunately, I've also heard him say that cleaning the house isn't "man's work." Whenever I hear him say something like that, I question him about that belief.

I usually start by asking him, "Why do you think that?" In this case, he has grown up watching me do all of the housework, whether I was in a relationship or not.

He explained that he thought that's just "what moms did." I tried appealing to his logic and explaining how exhausting it is to do every household chore on one's own.