Whether I care to admit it or not, raising a little boy is harder than it seems. I like to think that my son walks on water and I probably always will, he is my little boy after all, but I often find myself thinking about whether or not I will instinctively raise him right.No mother wants to think about the fact that her little boy could grow up and not be a perfect gentleman but when you think back to when you were a teenager/young adult, were the boys that you were around?
The guys I knew back in high school and collage were less than perfect and looking back, it's the "nerds" that I wish I had gotten to know better…they were the good guys. Thankfully I met Mr. Hunky in college and he was the total package, so all I can hope is that we raise our son to be the total package as well.
When I think about the life lessons that I want to make sure I teach my son, they're not your standard lessons like "practice makes perfect" or "go to college and get a better job", but they're things that I have observed over the years and want to teach my son about.
Dear Little Mister,
You know you mean the world to me and there is nothing more in this world that I love more than watching you grow. I want to give you the best life that I possibly can and teach you all the things it means to be a man. So lets start with these 10...
10. It may seem like the nice guys finish last, but that ends as soon as you graduate high school. Throughout high school it's typical that the girls will flock to the 'bad boys' but as soon as they graduate all they'll want is a good guy, especially when they're ready to settle down!
9. It's never O.K. to wear your pants so low that your butt hangs out.
Just don't do it, you'll look ridiculous.
8. You're never to cool to dance.
Don't be the guy who's hanging out on the wall at the dance when everyone else is having a good time. As cool as you think you are, you're never to cool to dance. Ever.
7. Tell your family you love them every day.
Life is to short to not tell your loved ones that you love them. Say 'I love you' before you leave for school in the morning and before you go to bed at night. The more the better.
6. We will love and support you no matter what.
I don't care if you're popular or not, an athlete or a scholar, a straight A student or a student who gets C's & D's. I don't care if you make mistakes or don't make them enough. We will love and support you through anything.
5. Never be ashamed of anything. Not your mistakes, not your friends, not your family, and especially not yourself.
Don't let others sway you into thinking you're not good enough or that you're a failure. Don't let others make you think that your friends aren't cool enough or your family is lame. And most of all don't let people get in your head and think that you're lame. Because you're not. You're amazing and unique.
4. Be responsible for your actions.
If you screw up, own it and learn from it.
3. It's important to remember that you live in the moment.
Each day is a gift. Always be thankful for what you have, try new things, love as much as possible, and laugh. Live in the moment, be present.
2. Respect your elders.
I don't care if they make you mad or make you feel like a kid. I don't care if they drive slow or walk like turtles. If they're older than you they deserve your full respect. Period.
1. It's never O.K. to disrespect a woman or be a womanizer.
This is the biggest. Do NOT be a player. Do NOT purposely break a woman's heart. Don't have multiple girlfriends or sleep around. Do not be a womanizer. I will lock you in your room for all of eternity if you do. And if you've already moved out, guess who's moving in with you!
Love,
Mom
What would you add to this list?
I love this, very good life lessons for all children to learn.
ReplyDeleteThank you Amity!
Deletelove this!! Especially the last one, respect is so important to teach our boys
ReplyDeleteI completely agree!
DeleteThese are great. Some days I am terrified of the world I am raising my children in and there are so many bad outside pressures and influences. I love the innocence of my almost 3 year old, I have started reminding him of a few of these already, we are currently in the dancing like fools stage and he can tell when I get stressed and asks to have a dance party :)
ReplyDeleteI agree, this world gets scarier by the day! Keep dancing my friend!
DeleteThis is very important to teach any boy/young man. These are things I want to instill in my son so that he may teach his sons and so on.
ReplyDeleteThese would be great lessons to pass down!
DeleteI love that you have thought ahead to what you want to teach your son. Of all of the things you want him to know, I especially appreciate that you want him to learn to be responsible for his actions, I wish that every parent would have this as a goal for each of their children
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI will teach my son to fold a fitted sheet. This will be his good woman/wife-catching bait. The woman who appreciates that skill is a keeper!
ReplyDeleteLOL I love that! I'm not even good at folding fitted sheets! :P
DeleteI love these! If every parent instilled these values in their children, the world would be such a safer place! Thanks for being one of the good ones!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAbsolutely love this! I was raised so differently than my husband and his ways have changed so much and it's so important that we teach our children to believe in themselves love themselves and love each other :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post, and SO true. I look at my four month old son already and think "I just hope so much that you grow up to be as wonderful of a man as your daddy is".... and I know I'll worry about it until he is grown!
ReplyDeleteI like all of these. I've included household chores/abilities for my boy and outside chores/abilities for my girls because I don't want them to be sexist people.
ReplyDeleteI like the 'respect for elders' thing but to a degree - if someone is older but is spouting racist, sexist, homophobic things, they automatically no longer get respect. I will teach my children to politely extract themselves from the situation because there is no arguing with elders who have ideas firmly entrenched in their minds. It is the younger generation that is the future so I must teach them to be the change that we wish to see in this world.
I like all of these. I've included household chores/abilities for my boy and outside chores/abilities for my girls because I don't want them to be sexist people.
ReplyDeleteI like the 'respect for elders' thing but to a degree - if someone is older but is spouting racist, sexist, homophobic things, they automatically no longer get respect. I will teach my children to politely extract themselves from the situation because there is no arguing with elders who have ideas firmly entrenched in their minds. It is the younger generation that is the future so I must teach them to be the change that we wish to see in this world.