How to Raise a Sweet Son

A friend recently posted an article from Time on her Facebook page on how to raise a sweet son in an era of angry men.  Her wife and she just had a son, and this looks like something that they fear.  Personally, I quietly fear for the child, as one of the moms has made posts like "I've come to the conclusion that the majority of males that i interact with on a daily basis are "superior" assholes. Honestly."

Seriously.  Hate nearly half the population much?

If you want to raise a sweet son, here are some suggestions:

• Love him.  Always.  And not only him, but his gender.  Love the differences that exist between the two, and look for opportunities for them to compliment each other.
• Shield your hate.  Hatred is a learned behavior.  What you say about others and how you treat them will be absorbed by your young sponge.  Garbage in, garbage out.
• Set expectations.  For school, for manners, for behavior.  But also know that your son is not a girl.  He's different, and he needs to be treated differently.  Treating him the same as a girl, especially as it applies to learning, will lead to his falling behind, frustration, and then worse.
• Add consequences when those expectations are not met.  Fairly, but consistently.  Morality and respect matters, especially in how we interact with each other.  
• Introduce him to God, and allow a relationship to develop.  
• Give him role models.  Look at the men that are around your son as they will have much sway as to how he develops.  End relationships that expose your son to sullied behaviors. Yeah, it's that serious.

A quick look at the most recent college statistics shows boys are still falling behind - in 2017 alone, women represented 56% of the college population.  That's downright scary.  We're failing our boys.  Hence, instead of bashing their gender so that we can make them "sweet," how about we start taking steps to stop hating our sons and make them successful instead?

The sooner we can stop hating each other, the better.