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Raising a son? But I am a girl!

© Stacy Hinkle

Raising a son or sons is an adventure no matter what way you look at it. People have said that girls are easier to raise then boys; honestly, with no girls in the house I wouldn't know. Not only do I have three boys of my own, two under four and one on the way, but also I have several older boys in the house. Every one of them is a challenge everyday. What I do know is having six boys, including my husband, is a scary thought for me. There are two major questions that have crossed by mind, in one form or another, everyday. One, why do they act the way they do, and two, how am I going to help them to be good men. I honestly don't think I will ever understand why they act the way they do, although I do have some ideas, and when it comes to helping them to be good men, well, that is a lot of work.

There are lots of things to teach your son, but the one I am going to skim the top of with you is how to teach sons to respect women. Mothers with sons sometimes have the feeling that they don't know what to do with a boy; At least I do. Mothers do have a major advantage when raising their son. Mothers know all about respecting women and are great teachers when it comes to respect.

In today's society, most men have trouble respecting women. With the growing awareness of domestic violence against women, it seems to me that teaching respect has been laid in the women's hands. Teaching respect include showing that women are equal to men, that physical violence is not acceptable, and respecting another person's thoughts and opinions.

Teaching your son that women and men are equal will help him learn that men are not better than women. Women and men hold equal grounds in the house and out of the house. This will teach them that if their wives work outside the home that they need to be helping inside. There are some ways that I suggest to help teach your son. The first is to look at your home and see if everything is equal between your husband and you. Your son watching what goes on in the house will be a major teacher without your even saying anything. The way that your husband treats you will be the same way that your son treats the women in his life. Also, the way that you treat your husband will give him the first ideas about how women will treat him. Another thing to do is to make sure, if your son has any sisters, which things between them are equal, such as chores. This will also help him to understand that men and women are equal. If one of them has fewer chores then the other, they will begin to think they are better then the other.

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