How To Guide Your Son to Be a Great Man
I LOVE my son! Those big, squishy cheeks, his infectious laugh, his devious smile., the way he talks, his questions and how he phrases them, it is all just so damn cute. But, he does have some
less appealing qualities, like everyone else. He likes to get really close to your face when he speaks to you, he has no concept of an inside voice, and he completely lacks patience. He is a typical man, right? Well, not yet. Actually, I am hoping he will never be. I want him to be better than typical. I want him to be great.
Sometime back I wrote a post titled “How to Raise a Self-Sufficient Daughter”, which was well-received. In that post, I shared the ten utmost important life skills that are necessary to raise an independent daughter. Well, our boys are no different. I would contend that the life skills we should teach to our daughters are the same life skills that we should teach to our sons. These life skills include:
- Teach him how to change a tire and understand the mechanics of a car.
- Teach him how to make honest money.
- Teach him how to defend himself.
- Teach him how to engage in banter.
- Teach him that people’s inner beauty is way more important than their outer beauty.
- Teach him how to say “No”.
- Teach him about discrimination.
- Teach him what real love should be like.
- Teach him that you will always be there for him.
- Teach him how to think for himself.
We need to teach them to look away from the media and celebrities for values, character, and inspiration. Instead, they must look closer to home. Look to their own fathers, brothers, uncles and grandparents. If no immediate or extended family member is a good example, then teach them to refer to historical leaders, or maybe their coach or their school teacher. They can also, look within their own communities for sufficient role models.
What are some of the attributes of “great men”? These are ten attributes of great men–historical and present day.
Nurture him to not be PRETENTIOUS.
Help keep him FOCUSED
Teach him how to be COOPERATIVE
Foster his PEACEFULNESS.
Advise him to be DYNAMIC
Explain to him the importance of remaining HUMBLE.
Allow him to be INNOVATIVE.
Instruct him to be WELL-MANNERED
Encourage him to be CARING.
Advocate for him to be INVOLVED
