Respecting Sons

As we begin this lesson we are reminded that the whole goal of child training is to bring up our children to maturity. It should be our desire to see them reach their full potential physically, spiritually and socially. The only way we will be able to achieve this is to depend upon God to strengthen us and enable us with the wisdom, endurance and love that we will need for this whole children rearing process.

Psalm 144:12, “That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth.”

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Sons are different than daughters. God has created our sons to grow up and become leaders and providers. Because of this, it is very important that we treat them in a way that is respectful so that he will have the confidence that he needs to do the many courageous things that God will call him to do.

Respecting Sons
1. Make it a priority to show respect to your husband first.
A. Understand that your son will respect you in direct proportion to your respect for his dad.
B. Mothers must teach their daughters to respect their brothers.

2. Verbalize your respect through praise of his achievements.
A. Admire him for his accomplishments.
B. Respect is connected to real achievements.

3. Give him responsibilities and expect him to fulfill his obligations.
A. Mothers should have high standards for their sons.

4. Common courtesy is a central aspect of respect.
A. Resist the temptation to make fun of your son in public.
B. Don’t share his weaknesses or failures with others.
C. Embarrassing your son in public is always disrespectful.
D. Make every effort to correct your son in private.

Remember this: boys who are braggarts or spend a lot of time showing off in front of others are usually lacking in respect. A boy who is respected will usually have more confidence and be more prone to good behavior.

Responsible Sons
1. We must prepare our sons to go out into the world, face obstacles, work hard, and provide for a household with integrity.
A. Mothers can unwittingly undermine this preparation by mollycoddling, pampering or overprotecting) their sons.
B. Mothers should avoid fighting their son’s battles and sheltering them from the consequences of their actions.
C. Mother should not rush to her son’s defense ~ sons who grow up looking to Mom to fix everything will look for the same thing in a wife :).

2. Sons must learn to take responsibility.
A. Sons must not be allowed to make excuses for their mistakes.
B. Mothers must resist the temptation to “feel sorry” for their sons when they fail.

3. Mothers should avoid being drawn into an adversarial relationship with her son.
A. Mothers must remember that they are in authority over the son until he is grown and should not argue with him as if he were an adult.
B. Mothers should strive to be good listeners and allow Dad to handle the big problems.
C. Mothers must give commands and then expect those commands to be followed without back talk.

4. Sons must not be trained to be home-centered.
A. Mothers must make it their goal to teach their sons that the pattern of homemaking is not the pattern of their future life.
B. Sons are to be raised and trained to leave the home and go out into the world and conquer it!
C. Mothers must remember that they are not the role model for their sons ~ he must be taught to love, admire and appreciate his mother, and learn very early on to follow in the footsteps of his father.

5. Sons must be taught to be self-controlled.
A. Indulging a son will lead him to live an undisciplined life.
B. You want your son to be self-governed, so that when he is older, he will not have to be governed by someone else.
C. Training your son to be self-controlled must begin when he is just a wee little boy (under the age of two years old).


Religious Sons
1. Sons demonstrate their faith differently than daughters do.
2. Look for ways that he is demonstrating his faith in his every day life and activities.
3. Don’t discourage your son for being vocal about his beliefs.

If God has given you the opportunity to mother a son, consider yourself blessed. The little boy in your home now will soon grow up to be a grown man in our society later. Ask God to help you to respect him and raise him in a way that he will grow up to be a responsible man who is able to work hard and lead well. May God bless you and encourage you as you do.

*I found this article on a blog, and felt that this would be a good thing for all of us moms who have little boys to read. I know there are a few areas I found that need to be worked on from both Bob and myself. I hope you can find an area that you strive in and also some to work in! :)

-This article is from Mrs. Julie Fink @ Lessons for Ladies