Nothing wrong with being a mama's boy
My wife is my four-year-old son's best friend.
I know this because he tells me so.
I sometimes try to convince him that I'm his best friend instead, and I feel like my arguments are sound.
After all, I'm the one who takes him out to water parks and playgrounds, despite my busy schedule.
I also point out to him that unlike his mother, I am able to educate him on the finer points of superhero lore.
My reasoning does not sway him though and he remains firm in his conviction that his mother is his BFF.
But I can't blame him because she had him inside her for nine months.
My wife plays the role of the responsible, concerned parent better and more often than I do. She helps him with his reading and makes sure he is prepared for whatever activities his kindergarten has planned. I can see how much she worries when he falls ill.
Subsequently, she spent 20 hours in labour and then needed an emergency Caesarean section to safely give birth to him.
Because of all they've been through together even before he was born, it makes sense that they would be close.
Even now, he spends more time with his mother than he does with me.
Every time I've had to work late, his mum is the one who brushes his teeth and tucks him in. And more often than not, she is the one who stays home with him when he is sick.
Despite his love of stereotypically "masculine" things such as toy guns - or anything else army-related, for that matter - he is very much a mama's boy, who sometimes insists on cuddling with her so he can fall asleep at night.
It feels retrograde and a little sexist to say that my wife does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to parenting, but she does.
It hasn't always been this way.
Before I joined the hectic world of journalism, I would like to think that I played a much more active role in his life.
Anyone who has children knows how often they fall sick, particularly in their first year. This is something that makes first-time parents like us particularly anxious.
And because I had a relatively less busy work schedule at the time, I often was the one who took leave to take him to the doctor and take care of him.
This got to the point where a co-worker hinted to me that I shouldn't be away from work so often, as taking care of children is a mother's job.
But I digress.
None of this takes away from the fact that my wife plays the role of the responsible, concerned parent better and more often than I do.
She sends him to kindergarten on her way to work and picks him up on the way back.
She helps him with his reading and makes sure he is prepared for whatever activities his kindergarten has planned.
I can see how much she worries when he falls ill and she has his medications memorised for whatever ailments he might have.
This concern extends to every part of his life, from making sure he eats right to ensuring his clothes match when he goes out.
She also helps him put together his Lego playsets - although I suspect that's as much for her as it is for him.
I take care of my son too, but my wife's commitment and care is something else.
With all that his mum does for him, it's no wonder he is so attached to her.
I know there are some who are critical of close relationships between mothers and sons. After all, the common perception of "mama's boys" is that they are mollycoddled, dependent and weak.
However, a close relationship between mothers and sons is a good thing, according to psychologists.
In 2010, research by the University of Reading found that children - especially boys - who do not receive support and comfort from their mothers in their early years are more likely to have behavioural problems later on in childhood.
Other studies found that a strong bond between mothers and children builds a sense of morality and guides them away from delinquency in adolescence.
So I'm okay with my wife being my son's best friend, as well as all that entails - whether it be baking scones with her or regularly expressing his affection.
Let him be a mama's boy.
After all, I'm one too.