As parents, we often have one main goal in mind: raise our children to become good humans who are happy and well-rounded. When it comes to raising boys, we wish to help our sons grow into good men in the long run.
Here are 11 useful tips to help you raise your son to be a good man.
1. Encourage good sportsmanship.
Good sportsmanship is a greatly underrated ability. Not only does it mean that you should encourage him to take a loss gracefully, but it also means you should encourage him to be humble when he is winning. At the same time, encourage him to do his best and to be his best.
For encouraging good sportsmanship, “The Boys’ Guide to Good Sportsmanship” is a great read to share with your son.
2. Teach them to stand up for their beliefs.
Teach him to stand up for what he believes is right while respecting the beliefs of others. This may sound counterintuitive, but there is a balance and a way to harbor strong beliefs and stand by them, while also not stepping all over the beliefs of another.
3. Show them the importance of family.
Family is so important, not just to boys growing into men, but to everyone. However, in recent years, the value of family seems to have gone down, at least when it comes to how society views family. Show your son that family is important by working to model a good family life for him.
4. Model good behaviors.
It cannot be said enough: if you want your son to grow into a good man, you need to demonstrate good behaviors and good values for him. Children pay attention to our actions and behaviors far more than our words. So, if you want to make a lasting impact you need to model the behavior you want from him.
“Boys Should Be Boys: 7 Secrets to Raising Healthy Sons” is a book that provides insights into modeling good behavior for boys.
5. Help him to manage his emotions.
Emotional intelligence is extremely important. And as parents, it is our job to help encourage our children to manage their emotions by teaching them about their emotions and showing them healthy ways to cope with them.
Consider “The Boy’s Body Book: Everything You Need to Know for Growing Up YOU” as a guide to help him understand and manage his emotions.
6. Give him responsibilities.
A lot of parents may mean well by doing everything for their children, but parenting experts agree, that it does far more harm than good. So, even if you give your son a small list of chores each week, do it and stand by enforcing that they are done. Doing so will build discipline and teach him responsibility.
7. Teach him how to take responsibility for his actions.
Responsibilities don’t just equate to work or chores. Responsibility is also taking ownership of your behaviors. Teach your son that it’s important to own his decisions, good or bad.
8. Teach him how to work hard.
Being a hard worker is a trait that many people value and for good reason. People who value hard work excel in many areas of their life because they passionately pursue the things they put their minds on.
“The Hard Hat for Kids: A Story About 10 Ways to Be a Great Teammate” might be a helpful book for instilling the value of hard work.
9. Allow him to express his emotions.
There is a very strange misconception among our population, which believes that boys don’t or shouldn’t cry. Boys and males in general, have emotions too. Emotions are not specific to gender. And teaching your child that their emotions are a source of shame is only going to end up making life much harder for them.
10. Teach him the value of respect.
It may seem obvious, but it needs to be said: respect is SO important. Not only is it important to teach your son to respect the people he interacts with, but it’s also important to teach him about self-respect. I think a lot of people understand what respect means, but unless you instill the value of self-respect, respect will end up being a misunderstood concept to you.
11. Teach him gratitude.
If you teach your son gratitude, you are not only preparing him to be a better man, but you are also teaching him how to be happier. Because if you cannot be happy with what you have when times are tough, you likely won’t appreciate how good things are when they are at an all-time high.
“The Gratitude Journal for Kids: Teach Children to Practice Gratitude” is an excellent tool for instilling gratitude in young boys.
12. Teach him to be a gentleman.
A lot of people think that chivalry is dead, but I beg to differ. Chivalry and men just being a gentleman, in general, will never go out of fashion. And the thing about chivalry is that it is taught through demonstration.