Apple and Books

As a mother to a son I am well aware that someday he will grow up, and I will no longer be as needed. A saying that my friends mom says has always stuck in my head, and even more so the moment I found out we were having a son…”A daughter is a daughter for all your life, a son is a son until he takes a wife”. This saying rang so true to me. My son’s future wife will take over MOST of the duties I have as a mom, and I accept that (do I?). But that means I have to do all I can now to prepare him for that time. There is so much I want to teach him in my lifetime, and many of those things need to be taught early. So I am starting of list of the things I hope to teach my son.

This post was inspired by a post on Team Studer

10 Things I Hope to Teach My Son

  1. To Have Faith: I want my son to have some sort of belief system. I want him believe in the things he can see and things he can’t. I want him to believe and trust in God, and have faith that everything will work out like they are supposed to. This may not always be easy, but I think it’s important.
  2. The Value of a Dollar: It’s VERY easy to give him everything that he wants. I WANT to do that for him, but it wouldn’t benefit him. It’s important to learn early on that money doesn’t grow on trees and takes hard work to earn. It will be a good life lesson 
  3.  How To Have Good Dinner Conversation: My family ate together every night. It gave us a chance to talk and share about our day. I want to pass that on to my son. When I go out to dinner I always see kids sitting at the table watching their portable dvds, or playing a video game. In my book that isn’t a family dinner. I don’t want that for my son, and I don’t want that for my family. There is a time and place for everything. This skill will take him far in life.
  4. Life Is Too Short To Be Anything But Happy: This is something I try to tell myself often. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do, but if you are miserable EVERY SINGLE DAY then something needs to change. We all deserve to be happy, so finding what makes us feel that way is important.
  5. Sometimes It’s Ok to Make A Mess: I am not the type of person who minds if every single toy is taken out. I can’t wait to take my little guy out to jump in rain puddles when he is old enough. I just hope I can remind myself of this too over the years, because sometimes the biggest mess equals the biggest adventure.
  6. Say I Love You and Give Hugs and Kisses: I want to teach my son to tell the people he cares about that he loves them (and mean it). Although people may KNOW that you love them it’s always nice to hear, and a big hug and kiss to those you love never hurt either.
  7. To Do the Laundry: His future wife will thank me! Whether he does the laundry or not, it’s a good skill to know. There will come a time where he needs underwear  and there isn’t someone around to wash them. It helps to know how to do it yourself!
  8. Try Different Foods: I can’t blame my parents for my horrible track record at trying new foods. They tried so hard! I just wish I let them teach me. I want my son to be open to try new foods. If he doesn’t like it fine, but at least he’ll know he tried it.
  9. Respect Women: I think it’s a mom’s job to teach their sons to respect women. Of course it’s something dad can teach, but a strong woman in his life can also teach wonders. I want to raise a gentleman.
  10. To Get Excited And To Look Forward To Things: I feel sometimes men think it’s “uncool” to get excited about things. I have no idea why? It’s OK to think ahead and it’s OK to be excited. Life is all about special moments, so why not look forward to making them?!

I know we have a long life ahead of us, and a lot that I need to teach my son before he can make it on his own. I look forward to the challenge. As parents its our job to raise our children. No one else can do the job, so I better get ready! I hope to one day look back on this list and smile because I was able to check each item off. Fingers crossed!

What is the most important thing you want to teach your child?