The Rational Basis® of Happiness Podcast

The Selfish Path to Romance. Download Chapter One for free at DrKenner.com.

The other day, my husband and I were at Friendly’s restaurant, and we were sitting there when we heard a little whimpery baby. And I thought, “This is a newborn. This isn’t just any baby; this is a real newborn baby.” I looked around, and I saw a young mother sitting with the baby on her lap and her parents there. So I went over just to say hi to her and look at the baby. And I started to say, “What a cute…” and the baby looked awful. Something was terribly wrong with this baby, and I couldn’t get “cute” out. It just didn’t fit.

The baby was plastic. It was a doll, and I had never seen these dolls before. It wasn’t that the baby looked awful—it just wasn’t real; it was plastic. She introduced me to Jasmine, her rubber doll. She’s a teenager who’s learning why it’s important to take precautions when having sex, because otherwise, you’ll be up all night with this baby. I said to her, “But does this work?” She had a key attached to her arm. The baby is computerized, so the baby will whimper, and you have to pat it for 10 or 15 minutes. It will wake you up throughout the night.

This particular baby didn’t pee. Next year, she gets the one that pees; she advances. She’s a junior in high school. Her name was Tiffany, and she said that it definitely works, that a lot of the girls walk around saying, “This isn’t good for me.” I’m wondering why they don’t give it to the guys too.

For more Dr. Kenner podcasts, go to DrKenner.com.

Here’s an excerpt from The Selfish Path to Romance, the serious romance guidebook by clinical psychologist Dr. Ellen Kenner and Dr. Edwin Locke.

There are many deal-breakers when it comes to finding a potential soulmate. If you’re in this situation, one thing to be on the lookout for, and to be cautious about, are people with significant psychological or mental health problems. For example, severe repression, significant chronic anxiety problems, recurrent depression, substance abuse, or gambling problems—especially if such individuals are not yet under treatment and have no motivation to fix their problems or don’t take their problems seriously. Don’t make a partner’s untreated problems your lifetime career. A romantic partner can be supportive but should not be a live-in therapist.

You can download Chapter One for free by going to DrKenner.com, and you can buy The Selfish Path to Romance at Amazon.com.