Being the dad of a teenage son definitely has its highs and lows. Seeing that baby that once communicated with squeeks, gurgles, and shrill squeals grow into a young man that can have deeply curious conversations about life with you, is simply amazing. Having that same baby grow up to be able to tell you how passionately he disagrees with your decisions can be equally painful.
As you help your boy navigate his way through his teen years towards being a man, you both will experience a wide range of emotions . Hang is there, dad. Regardless of how much your mini-me pushes back against your instruction, never stop fighting for him. You are his navigator into manhood. If you do not take the time to show him the way, then who will?
Here are ten quick tips to show your teenage son that you care:
- Tell him you love him every single day.
- When he breaks your rules – critique his action, not his personality.
- Hug him even though he appears to be too cool for a hug.
- Give him opportunities to try out his strength on you: Wrestle with him , grapple with him, let him punch you in the arm
- Give him chances to be “dangerous” responsibly. Teach him how hunt, sharpen a pocket knife, climb on rocks..
- Enter into his world – play video games with him, watch some movies he likes, talk about his interests.
- Expose him to other good men that you trust and respect.
- Try not to respond to him in anger. Set an example of how to be calm and patient with others.
- Brag on him in public. Let him know you are proud of him.
- Show him how to treat women well. Let him see you treating your wife and his mom with love and respect.
Tags: dad, Fathers, manhood, parenting, parenting teenager, son, Sons, teen years, teenage son, Teenagers, young man
‘Teach him how to shoot a gun’ You must be kidding teaching your offspring illegal activity’s. What’s next dangerous activity? Robing a bank?
Maybe I should have been a little clearer about guns. I was referring to shotguns and shooting traps…
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it.
So for single moms who have no father in their sons lives or any significant male role models what can we do?
That is a good and important question. I have recently received the same type of question from some single mom friends of mine that have teenage sons. They love their sons very much but have difficulty being able to meet some of the needs of their sons that dads or other men seem to be able to help with more easily. Specifically, I am talking about a teenage boys need to test out his strength or find an outlet for that testoterone driven urges to be dangerous. For these friends I have directed them to functions in our local church for teen guys where their sons can be exposed to activities with other teenage guys with responsible adult male supervision. Activities like rock wall climbing, paintball, camping, hiking, etc work well to let guys do venture into moderately “dangerous” activities while being encouraged and mentored by men. The bottom line is that I feel it is important to expose your teenage son to other responsible men that you trust so he can have a male role model as he tries to figure out how to move from boyhood to manhood. Perhaps you could try Boyscouts, YMCA programs, Church Programs, Local Sports, etc… I hope this helps.