5 Tips for Raising Sons

It all started 9 years ago when we found out we were having a boy. I never imagined I would have one son nonetheless two boys. I started thinking about how to raising sons was different than raising daughters. I had never play dolls with boy dolls and I had never had a brother. There was a brief stint with a step brother but he was older and beyond “raising”. I am a planner by nature and someone who enjoys making a plan. I thought about all the things the drew me to my husband. Then I decide to back up and figure out how he came to be that way. I came up with some ideas on how I was going to shape my son into a man.

   Tips for Raising Sons

1) Spend time with your sons alone. Talk to them. They want your attention whether it appears that way or not. I have established “dates” with my son. I intend to continue them forever. I think the greatest gift we can give is our time.

2) Establish rules and spend the time to enforce them. If a child is left without guidance they will never learn to be respectful.

3) I believe in surrounding your child with role models. This is very important as a wife and mom. If your husband or boyfriend isn’t the type of person you want your son to be you need to find a way to help both of them change. My husband treats me with respect. He is an excellent father and he provides more than a paycheck to our house hold.  IN fact if you ask my son what he wants to be he will say a daddy.

4) Help your son set goals for himself. I believe without goals we are all just moving. If your son has a goal than they will realize success and feel accomplished and satisfied for doing something beneficial. We recently had a week and we were able to successfully move our son from his bed to crib in a week. We did it by talking to our youngest and coming up with a plan. I use my dates to figure out what my son needs help with and what he is working on. It can be anything from beating a game on his DS to working on his math facts topotty training my youngest it is about Raising Sons that feel empowered in their goals. It is my job as “mom dective” to figure it out and help. This last month he wanted to spend more time with his parents. We allowed him to stay up 30 minutes longer each night for some alone time. It wasn’t a big change to us but it has meant the world to him.

5) Take the time to notice things that your son is doing that you would like to see repeated later on. We all like to hear nice things but we often forget to say them. I also have a special “sign” I give my son when I notice something. It can be a tap or thumbs up or just a special look.

Raising sons is one of the most important jobs you can do. The creation of a strong man is one that is often hard. I know that our sons will have all they need to be successful and it will be our love, guidance, rules, and attention to detail that will be all the difference. We do not distinguish between genders they each  have jobs and everyone does them. He may be a boy but he does the laundry, cleans dishes, and even plays dolls with his sister when it is her turn to chose their game. We do not have “boy jobs” or “girl jobs” and we do not just kiss our daughter and not our son. We believe that it is important to raise a son that is caring, considerate, hard working, thoughtful, generous, empowered, and most importantly supported.

Topic: Raising Sons