Boys look up to their fathers a lot to teach them about life, how to be successful, how to treat women and how to raise good families amongst other things. Most of these they learn by simply observing their old men, which explains why boys with good fathers typically grow up to become good men and vice visa. In the light of this therefore, it is important for fathers to be actively involved in their sons’ lives during their formative years. And besides being involved, they should also teach their boys important lessons that will help them successfully navigate through life. Some of these lessons are briefly discussed below.
Fathers should teach their sons how to do typical manly chores around the house. This is very important, especially considering that someday soon they too [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][the boys] are going to be in charge of their own homes and as such will be responsible for making sure that most things work. Teaching them to be in-charge of things around the home therefore is a good way of teaching them responsibility. And typical examples of manly stuff fathers must teach their boys to be able to do include- painting the house, fixing electrical faults, putting on the generator and making bill payments. Help them form the habit of ensuring that things around the house work and everyone is comfortable. They must be taught to cut the grass around the house, do basic plumbing works and even fix the car when it has minor issues.
Fathers should teach their sons how to defend themselves from likely bullying. Mums are soft-hearted and may typically just want to calm a boy down and perhaps report at school after a bullying incident. But this rarely is the solution to incidents of bullying. In a place like Nigeria, the proven way to wade off bullies is to punch them right in their noses and let them bleed. I know this may sound violent, but trust me the pain is lesser than the emotional and even physical pain bully victims feel even up into adulthood. Therefore, fathers must teach their sons basic tips on how to defend themselves so that no bully can destroy their self esteem and ruin their childhood.
It is the job of fathers to teach their sons how to knot a tie. Most young men nowadays do not know how to knot a tie; probably because nobody taught them. And that is bad, because it shows either that their fathers did not know how to knot ties themselves or they did not just have interest in the development of their sons.
Fathers should teach their sons sound worldviews and will power. As you may well know, ideologies rule the world w live in and it is the primary function of parents to get their children exposed to the right worldviews. That said, fathers must teach their sons the right set of principles to live by. And not just that; they must also teach their sons to have the willpower to live by such guiding principles and never relent even in the face of challenges.
Fathers should also teach their sons the importance of hard work. Having learnt how uneasy it is to earn income and take c are of a family, fathers are better positioned to teach their sons the importance of hard work as well as the need to be money-wise. Teaching them such will not only prepare their minds for responsibility during adulthood, but also make them realize the sacrifices parents make to take care of their children.
It is also the place of fathers to teach their sons political consciousness. It is unfortunate that in Nigeria, our level of political socialization is poor. Indeed, families, which the basic unit of the society where this process should start, have continually failed. I put this blame precisely on fathers because inasmuch as women are meant to be actively involved in the political process as well, men should be the ones at the forefronts of determining their family’s political consciousness and such related matters. Therefore, I put it to every father who is reading this, to take up the task of orientating their sons and daughters on the need to be politically conscious and be actively involved in the political processes starting from the grassroots to the centre.
Finally, fathers should teach their sons to respect women. As pointed out earlier, boys tend to imitate everything their fathers are; even without the fathers necessarily teaching them. Therefore, if a father is the type of man who beats up his wife and berate her, the chances of his son grow up to do the same thing to his own wife are high. On the other hand, if a man is the type who treats women with respect beginning with his own wife, his son will observe and grow up to be respectful to women too.
There are many more things fathers should endeavour to teach their sons. But for the sake of time I have tried to summarize it all. Please pass along to any father you know and care about; every man needs this information.
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