Sometimes I wake up, look at the world we live in, and sort of shake my head. I often wonder if our parents did the same at our age. I’m disappointed in the world my children are having to grown up in. It doesn’t seem quite fair. How do I teach my boys to become men? Especially in this world.

Yet as a father it is my job to prepare them for the insanity that they will face… I fail at this often. The problem is- There is a lot to teach them. But on top of that, how do I teach them to become good, respected, Godly men?

LESSONS MY DAD TAUGHT ME

When I was young my dad taught me a few lessons. Not the type of lessons where you sit down, have a chat, read a text book type. They were lessons on life I picked up on by just watching him.

My father was a blue collar man. That’s the type of life I like, and the type of men I respect. Men that get up and go to work and never complain out loud.

The lessons I learned by watching my father were lessons like:

• Sacrifice for your family

• Work hard to ensure they have clothes, a roof, and food.

• There is beauty in sitting alone in the silence of a deer stand or on a fishing dock all alone.

We’ve all seen that meme floating around on facebook lately: Lessons to teach your son. There is some practical advice on that list. But it got me thinking about some of the things I wanted to teach my boys.

I believe there is an added bonus on thinking through such things. I think it makes us better parents. A proactive parenting life is much better than a reactive parenting life.

The issue I face is there are so many life lessons I need to teach them, but these are just a few. Perhaps over the coming weeks I can think of other list on the lessons of life I hope to teach my children.

TEN THINGS TO TEACH OUR KIDS

1- Never type out a comment, email, or social media post in anger. Take time to think things through before responding.

2- Make sure the people you respect have standards you would be proud to teach your own children.

3- Try and not let your differences have a negative affect on your friendships.

4- Listen to others who have a different opinion and don’t simply dismiss their views. Think about them.

5- Be humble enough to learn your weaknesses, and then seek advice and ways to improve yourself in those areas

6- Adventure is sometimes more memorable than making plans. Don’t be afraid to go on one. Especially the spontaneous ones… 

7- Failure is a part of life. Never let it be the thing that makes you quit

8- Apply yourself 110% to the work you do

9- Never be ashamed of what you believe and of your faith

10- Don’t be a douchebag to people. Protect those that are weak and stand in the way of those who are bullies

As I said. These are only a handful of the lessons I hope to teach my boys as they grow.

I want to also teach them about adventure, dating, work, disappointments, being Biblical… The list could go on and on. Maybe now that I’m approaching mid forty the idea of finding the most important lessons is becoming more important.

What are some solid lessons you would like to share with your kiddos….?

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