For many of us, today marks the beginning of a holiday weekend, and that means it’s an opportunity to spend a little quality time with the extended family. For others, these holidays make it more difficult to come up with excuses to avoid family functions. In China, making such excuses just got a little harder. This week, the Chinese government passed a new law compelling adult children to visit their aging parents. Even if we passed such a law and turned breaking that law into a felony, I’m not sure it would be nearly as powerful as some well-aimed guilt.

+ WSJ: The Loneliness of the Empty Nest: “In the sudden quiet may come the discovery that years on a treadmill — raising children, building careers — have left them very different people than they were in the their 20s or 30s. In short: They’ve woken up with a stranger.” (And not in the cool, titillating sense.)

+ There has been a massive rise in the number of single-father households over the past few decades.

+ According to a recent study, boys with sisters are less likely to do chores when they grow up. I have three older sisters. None of them would agree to find today’s most fascinating news.