Posted in Family Life

One aspect of raising boys that is lost in our culture today is the understanding that girls and boys really are different—very different.  Forcing little boys to sit and be quiet and essentially act like little girls for hours each day, to “share their feelings” and be passively spoon-fed information, to sit in front of a video screen for extended periods all go against the natural tendencies of boyishness.  Boys need to be active, they need to be moving, and they need to be tackling projects and overcoming obstacles.  When they are not allowed to do these things, they become frustrated.  In school each day in America, little boys are being told to stop being themselves.  They are told that the desire to slay pretend dragons, wrestle with their buddies, or play cops and robbers is wrong.  Many perfectly normal boys are given the ADHD label for simply displaying natural boyish behavior.  Subsequently, the boyishness is often drugged out of them.  It is a very sad fact that because of the contempt with which boys are viewed by our culture in general and the government education system in particular, many boys are growing up to be frustrated men who have no sense of identity.  They don’t know what it means to be men.  The number of boys growing up without a father in the home continues to rise, adding to the problem.

As a homeschooling mother of boys, I am so thankful that my sons can be spared the difficulties and dangers experienced by young boys in a traditional classroom setting.  My sons (and other homeshooled boys) have the daily structure necessary for proper training, as well as the freedom to explore and conquer new territory each day.  The have real, meaningful responsibilities that contribute to the running of the household and consequently they have a sense of significance and usefulness boys need to have.  My sons have a daddy who is completely invested in their lives and who wants to give them the guidance and Godly instruction he didn’t have when he was young.  I am thankful for the blessings and privileges my sons have and I am thankful for the Lord teaching and showing my husband and I so many truths from His Word that, as we implement them in our lives, will directly impact our sons, thereby influencing generations that come after them.

A boy is only a boy once.  Let him slay the dragon (with a wooden sword) and save the princess (mommy or sister).  He’s practicing to be a real man.

This post is the third in a series on raising sons.