Grooming Little Boys to Become Men

Over the past few months I have been giving a lot of thought towards what kind of men I want my sons to be. I spend all day with my boys. My husband works days but when he is home he spends as much time as he can with the boys trying to teach them things about being men. Mike is a great man and I know my boys will be just as great. While he is away I try to teach them things as well. Just today I spent some time showing Jordan how to clean the bathroom. Then we moved onto the laundry. I just wanted him to sort the clothes. Finally he was to put away his clothes and make his bed. I'm not trying to make my boys into girls but I think it is important to teach boys how to take care of themselves. Yes they may someday have a wife who will take care of them but I feel they need to self-sufficient also.

Jordan was asking me why he was having to do all these chores. I explained that I feel its important for a guy to know how to do his own laundry, dishes and keep himself clean as well. I told him that no girl wants to come over and see her boyfriend in his house that has dirty clothes all over the place, a sink full of dirty dishes and he smells because he hasn't bathed for a week. He just laughed. I make my boys bathe everyday during the summer and every other day during the winter. Jordan and eventually Conor need to learn the basics. We've been teaching Conor how to pick up his toys and he loves baths so that's an easy one. I will eventually teach Jordan how to use the washing machine and to do the dishes by hand in case he doesn't have a dish washer. Another thing I think is important is cleaning up after yourself. Especially spills. Just the other day Conor spilled some juice on the floor and went and got a hand towel without me even knowing he'd spilled it in the first place. I only found out when he came and handed me the towel. I have two wonderful and smart boys. I hope someday they find a woman who will take care of them but in the mean time they'll be caring for themselves.