Let’s not forget our American Boys!

As the mother of a 5 year old girl, I have a lot of expectations, hopes, and dreams for what her future holds. I try my best to instill the qualities she will need to survive in adulthood. She will need confidence, empathy, strong will, and determination to name a few. She will need these qualities if she is to be successful in business, or at home if she chooses, when she is surrounded by men. (Her father, brothers, husband, uncles, grandfathers, nephews, and sons.)
It is with this in mind that I am more conscious of how I raise my two small boys. Of course, our boys need all the same qualities as our girls, but there is another side to boys today that we should not overlook. With many households relying on two incomes, men are now taking on more responsibility in the home. Girls are taught to be nurturing from a very early age, but boys are often overlooked in this area. Many men are not thrilled to see their sons playing with dolls, or dressing up in Mommy’s shoes. And sometimes this kind of play is discouraged for boys.
My son Jack is three and is “all boy”. He loves trucks, tools, tractors, sports, and superheroes. However, on occasion, he likes to copy his sister and try on lip gloss, walk a baby in a stroller, or dress up with tinkerbell wings (although I have to admit he is usually superman, when he wears the wings, because as you know, superman can fly). My husband and I encourage this kind of imaginative play just as much as when he works side by side with Daddy fixing things with his tools. We encourage this play in the hopes of helping our son develop into a stronger man.
Stronger man, playing with dolls? Yes!! Tomorrow’s men need to be more nurturing than the men of today. Most of our fathers did not have an active role in childrearing or home-making. But fathers today are different, the nuclear family is different. Did my father ever change a diaper? NO WAY!! My husband however plays an active role in raising our children. Our husbands didn’t learn this role as children, so they often stumble through this process. Some shine, others have a much harder time. Our sons, however, will have role models in their fathers, and possibly even some grandfathers who are redefining their own roles.
It is important that we raise our new generation of boys to be more nurturing, and caring. It is important for them so that they won’t struggle in adulthood surrounded by their moms, grandmother, aunts, sisters, wives, and daughters. It is also important because our sons are the ones who will be waiting at the end of the aisle for our American Girls, and it is our Sons who will be fathers to our Granddaughters. When we raise our American Boys, we are raising them for our American Girls.
So let them dress up, encourage affection, let them cry, let them take dance class, let them bake with Mommy, teach them to not squash bugs. Teach them all the things that our American girls will look for and love in a father, husband, or son. And rest assured that even in Tinkerbell wings they will find a way to be Superman! Beecause, as everone knows, Superman can fly.