Seven Things to Teach a Boy About Being a Man

Today I read a great article on important things to teach your daughters. I encourage you all to read that article here. It was very inspiring since I hope one day to have a little daughter that I can teach and love. But, the this article was very one-sided and failed to mention the things we need to teach our sons. The world can only change so much if only one gender is being taught the right way to live. That still leaves around 50% of the population to live poorly. It is just as important to teach our sons about how to treat a woman, and how to live a respectable life. So I decided to come up with my own ideas.

Now I may not be an experienced parent yet, and I know I may sing a different tune when it comes time to teach my son these things, but I do feel like they are important and you can take what you will from them.

So here it goes:

Seven Things to Teach a Boy About Being a Man:

1. You are a child of God and His opinion of you is the only one that matters.

I hope I can instill in my son that he is a child of a loving Heavenly Father. I hope he realizes that it necessary for him to do what the Lord has asked of him. Others may not support him (Although I hope this is never the case, I may not support him), but doing the right thing will always leave you more fulfilled than doing what will make others happy.

2.  Integrity and Charity will get you farther in life than a Mustang and nice home.

I don't want to teach my son that money is bad (in fact, I hope to teach him the important principles of saving and investing), but I do want him to know that if he puts others before himself, he will never be in want.

3. Being a gentleman requires both ACTION and ATTITUDE.

It is not enough to teach our sons that they should open the doors for their sisters, girlfriends, wives, and or any other lady for that matter. Being a gentleman means finding the balance being being humble and having confidence in yourself. It means treating women as the Daughters of God they are, with the utmost respect for their feelings as well as their bodies.

4. Hard work is the most rewarding kind.

One of the many things I have learned from my husband is the joy that comes from working hard for something you want. Life cannot always be handed to you and taking the easiest way is most likely only going to lead you to an unfulfilled life.

5. Never be afraid to show your emotions.

To often I hear "boys don't cry, suck it up." And though I want my son to be strong, I hope that when he is sad, he will show it. When he is excited, I hope he shows that, too.

6. Self-control is hard, but it is necessary for success in life.

I want my son to know that some of the important things we need to learn in this life do not come naturally and are thus very difficult to learn. Self-control is one of these things and many men and women have all but given up on this important life lesson. I hope to teach my son that immediate gratification is never as rewarding as what you will get with a little bit of patience,

7. Your mother and father love you and will always be there for you.

I think, most of all, I hope my son never questions this. I hope I can show him every day how special he is to me. I want to teach him that through good and bad, I will always be there to listen, support, encourage, or simply give a needed hug.