Teaching Your Son it is Okay to have Emotions

One way parenting sons is a little different than daughters is when talking about their emotions and sensitive side. It seems that a broad consensus is that it is okay if girls are sensitive, but when boys do, they are sometimes viewed as being weak. As a mother, it is your job to teach your son all of his emotions and feelings are valid, crying is okay, and he should embrace his feelings.

Look at Things from Your Son’s Perspective

When your son is being emotional about something, don’t just ignore his feelings and move on from it. Try to really see things from his perspective. A child’s emotions are not always about crying, but sometimes he reacts in more of an angry or frustrated way. If your son seems to be lashing out at you or others, before you lecture him or punish him for this behavior, try to figure out what is causing it. This is another important way to let him know it is okay to feel his emotions and feelings, but that sometimes there is a better way to deal with them.

Never Use Phrases Like ‘Be a Man’

There are a variety of things people tend to say to boys that can be hurtful to him. Telling him he ‘throws like a girl’ or needs to ‘be a man’ are hurtful, degrading, and can really lower his self-confidence. Not only are they bad for your son’s personal self-esteem, but it can cause him to think it is not okay to express his feelings and emotions. This starts a bad habit of holding them all inside and thinking if he cries, he isn’t being a man. Make sure nobody in his life ever says this type of thing to him.

Discourage Anyone to Make Fun of Him For Crying

Also discourage people in his life to make fun of him if he is sensitive or emotional. If he cries when watching a sad movie or because he hurt himself, and someone is making fun of him, stop them immediately. Make sure they know it isn’t okay, and that your son understands it is okay to express his feelings.

You should always be the person your son can turn to if he wants to talk, but also make sure he understands it is okay to trust another adult with whatever he wants to talk about. Also instill the importance of not letting someone bully him over what he thinks or feels about something.