Raising Men: Show and Tell Your Son How a Man Should Treat a Lady

{This is part 4 of the ongoing series “Raising Men”. You can read part 1 Here, part 2 Here, and part 3 Here}

In Minnesota and many other places around North America, girls are allowed to play on boy’s sports teams (yes, football, too) but boys are prevented from playing on girl’s teams. You know, because it’s important to be fair and treat everyone equally.

Now, a policy like that wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that by the time they are adults, on average, men have 300% greater upper body strength than women, would it?

I still remember my 12 year-old son glancing back my direction as several mature girls were suited up on the opposing team. I knew what he was thinking: Am I supposed to be as rough with those girls as I am against the guys? It gets confusing.

News Flash: Boys and Girls are Different!

But reality won’t stop this culture from making the most bizarre attempts to remove the distinctions and boundaries between the sexes.

How do you feel about your girls showering at the local high school gym with boys who feel like they are girls? You don’t have a problem with that, do you?

Did you see this story about transgender students being allowed to use the high school locker room/shower they feel most comfortable in?

http://www.startribune.com/sports/preps/277533631.html?page=3&c=y

Hey Dad & Mom, sit back and relax. The culture your son is surrounded by will teach him every thing he needs to know about how a man should treat a lady.

Raising any child according to the Word of God in this perverse world is going to be a challenge. Raising your son to treat women with the respect, dignity, and deference they should receive won’t happen by itself. It happens through intentional parenting.

If our sons are going to learn how a man should treat a lady, we have to be proactive and engaged in the formation of his thoughts and ideas. As parents, we have to “Show & Tell”.

What are we showing our sons in our own homes about how a man treats a lady? What is your son learning about how a man should protect, care for, honor, espect, and love a woman by what he sees in your home, day after day?

It’s best to proactively show our sons but whether or not we are purposeful, we are still showing them . . . and, they’re still learning from us. What kind of teacher are you, Dad & Mom, when it comes to this vital understanding on a young boy’s journey to manhood?

Don’t just show, tell (teach) your son what he needs to learn. What are you directly, verbally teaching your son about how he should treat a young lady?

Teach your son how to think about women and, consequently, how to think about himself.

Teach him that:

• Men and women are different in many ways
• Women are to be respected
• Women are to be honored
• Women are to be protected
• A man cares for women (his wife & kids) before he cares for himself

Each one of these categories is a great conversation starter for dads or moms with their sons. Perhaps you have your own suggestions to add to the list?

Like Orcs destroying everything that’s good and green in Middle Earth, this culture is only too happy to inform your son of its values and morals.

Dad & Mom, take charge of what your son is learning about how a man should treat a lady.

~Matthew