Fellow workers, I feel your pain and conflict. You have a million things on your plate: work, ferrying kids to camps and playdates, housework, laundry, grocery shopping and meal prep and cooking. It is a staggering, never-ending list of chores. And, on top of it all, we have celebrity chefs and other do-gooders telling us that home cooking doesn’t take that much time. It makes me want to scream.

Three sociologists are here to reassure you that it’s not your fault. They have conducted a study and confirmed what you probably suspected: our crazy modern lives and lack of control over our work make cooking a luxury.

Also this weekend, we have stories about building your child’s vocabulary, what exactly jihad means and why people faint.

Top stories

Getting a healthy meal on the table every night is a challenge for many mothers. ESB Professional/Shutterstock.com

Time to cook is a luxury many families don’t have

Joslyn Brenton, Ithaca College; Sarah Bowen, North Carolina State University; Sinikka Elliott, University of British Columbia

Celebrity chefs often preach about the ease of home cooking and meal planning. But for most mothers juggling a job, child care, housework and meal prep, this is virtually impossible.

The size of a child’s vocabulary during the early years helps shape language skills later in life. Monkey Business Images/www.shutterstock.com

7 ways to build your child’s vocabulary

David Dickinson, Vanderbilt University

The earliest years of children's lives represent some of the best opportunities to expand their vocabulary and language skills.

This term ‘jihad’ can include various forms of nonviolent struggles: for instance, the struggle to become a better person. AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

So, what really is jihad?

Mohammad Hassan Khalil, Michigan State University

Violent radicals are often described as jihadists. A scholar explains what the word means and why those using the word to justify terrorism are often misrepresenting their sources.

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