-- Actual conversation with my four-year-old --
I notice the pile of crumbs he left on the floor after eating lunch. I walk towards the broom, then remember he has the WORST work ethic of my three kids, and I decide I’m gonna stand my ground.
Me: Hey – you! Get the broom and sweep this up.
4-year-old: (Confused) Why?
Me: Why? Because you made a mess…and you need to work…on how you work. (Elequent, I know.)
4-year-old: Why?
Me: You need to get better at working.
4-year-old: Why?
Me: (Grrrrrr) Because work will turn you into a man.
4-year-old: (Pauses. Then smiles ear to ear.) Work will turn me into…a man?
Me: Mmmhmm…now get the broom.
You may have noticed there are a lot of males walking around who weren’t given opportunities…to grow into men. Whether they were coddled, neglected, underestimated, or slipped through the cracks; they’re development stunted – and our society suffers.
For decades, males have been lagging in educational achievements. Girls make-up the majority of top-ranking high school students, and “women now earn 60% of both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees, about half of all law and medical degrees, and 42 percent of all MBAs.”
Boys have lower test scores and more behavior problems in school, also lower rates of employment and higher rates of incarceration as young adults. And tragically, according to the National Institute of Health, American men are four times as likely to commit suicide than women.
Males are struggling in our society. Why? My observation...they weren’t taught how to be men when they were boys. As of 2014, 1 in 4 kids were living in a home without a dad, and boys who grow up with absent fathers are more likely to become absent fathers themselves. Boys lack the positive role model to mold them into manhood. Then the cycle continues.
What You Can Do
-The world needs strong men. Parents….teach your boys. So they can become a man.
-Chores, inside and outside the house, are vital in teaching responsibility.
-Sports and hobbies foster work, persistence and accountability.
-Turn off the screens and send them outside.
-Turn off the screens and give them a book.
-Fathers, share a hobby with your sons. Time together lerarning, working and having fun foster stronger relationships.
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