TeachingChildren

What’s a way to properly raise our boys (besides nutrition and living away from the bleep) and more importantly - how do we reclaim these lost boys?

1. Never coddle them. Challenge them with age-appropriate things. A 4yo may not be able to hold the drinking glasses due to his small hands, but he can hold 1-2 dinner plates and set the table every day. He should just take it easy and not hold more than he can.
2. Allow them to explore, and test themselves (especially boys), and even get hurt with bumps and bruises. Do not deny your kids learning experiences. That doesn't mean you let a 4yo run in front of cars in the parking lot.
3. Show interest in their interests. Young boys like to catch (hunt) animals, like worms, frogs, snakes. Show some interest in their catch and praise them. That does not mean you have to have it as a pet inside the house. Show them it's ok to be a man.
4. Teach boys and girls balance. It's ok to have feelings and cry. It's not ok to make big decisions using only emotions, or letting emotions control their life. Cry, get it out, and move on. Don't wallow in self-pity.
5. Teach them to never give up, especially when learning something new like riding a bicycle. This attitude MUST start early in the children or it just won't "take". These lessons must be frequent and consistent.
6. Give them regular chores, and start by giving them no allowance. They are required to work to earn their keep since you already pay for everything for them. Give them age-appropriate chores, not too long as young kids have a short attention span. By age 7 I was cleaning my room, vacuuming it, changing my sheets to wash them, putting clean sheets on, washing dishes, washing the kitchen floor, and I made my bed every day.
7. Understand child development, what they can do when, especially the psychology part. Kids under about age 7-8 have a hard time deciding between more than 2 things so give them 2 choices of what to wear, what to eat, no more. When young you, the parent will often decide what they eat, the kids don't get to choose. Everyone eats the same thing as long as food allergies are not involved. This gives the parent an opportunity to give new food to the kids to at least try one bite.
8. Encourage them, tell them they did a good job, but ONLY when they earned it.
9. Never give unearned awards. There can be only one winner. Never give participation trophies, this dilutes the value of all trophies and end goals.
10. Do not protect them from the real world, teach them real world skills they will need at the appropriate age. At some point you should give them an allowance and teach them to save for bigger things. This is not fun money! They should save at least 50% of their allowance, not spend it. The same goes for money received as gifts.
11. Point out when your kid does something really wrong. They need to know right from wrong. This takes practice.
12. Never show fear if they get hurt, this just scares the crap out of kids and makes them think the wound is worse than it is.
13. Teach fairness. Case: When I was young I was in charge of cutting the last piece of cake in half. If I made on piece a tiny bit bigger, and my mom found out, she immediately gave me the small piece of cake. No yelling, no spanking for this one, I just got a smaller piece of cake, and a helping of my disappointment.
14. Show there are consequences for their actions starting young. When we took away my son's TV that was what made an impact on him.
15. Be in control. You are the parent, you run things. Make that very clear to the kid.
16. Do not give them too many things for free, make them work for it. This is related to them saving up their allowance for something bigger.
17. About age 10 or so show them the circle of life. Animals die. So do people. Don't protect them from the facts of life. If their goldfish dies, help them make a little ceremony, put the fish in a box they choose, and bury him outside. Or what ever they choose. Kids get emotional connections to animals, that's normal. Help them create their own coping skills.
18. Make sure to teach them not to whine. Never reward whining by just giving them a toy they want, make sure they can work to earn it.
19. Teach them to be polite to everyone. Teach them they can explain their views but cannot force their views on anyone for any reason. Don't be like Democrats.
20. In the real world, people are judged by what results they produce, not by what opinions they have. Opinions are cheap and require no work at all, hard work and results are what matter.
21. Feelings are not facts. Teach them to debate using facts, and to do research and learn both sides of a story before forming and opinion. This skill is pretty rare in the younger people.
22. Read and explain the US constitution and what it means. At first you will have to read it to them, but then they can read it to you can and have them explain it to you. Freedom isn't free.
23. Don't fight with your SO in front of your kids. Take it somewhere else. Call a baby sitter if you have to.
24. The "naughty chair" teaches patience, not self-control. They simply wait until they get out of "jail" and do the same behavior again. This naughty chair will not prevent them from running in front of a car and getting killed. Think about that.
25. Kids have tantrums. Sometimes it's from hormones, or being really tired. Don't bribe them to be quiet, they don't have self-control when they are real young.
26. Your job is to teach your kids valuable lessons, not prevent them from crying. Learning is hard, so there will be crying and frustration on their part. Expect it.
27. Feminists are constantly demeaning men and all masculinity. They are part of the problem.
28. Teach them to keep their promises.
29. Teach them to help others without being asked.
30. Teach men to cook, wash clothes, do the dishes, make the bed. Teach the daughters how to change the oil in a car, how to change a tire, fix things around the house, etc. They should have a balanced education. When they do these things, when they get married they will appreciate more when their SO does these things instead of taking them for granted.
31. Teach boys and girls responsibility. They are responsible for their own actions, and their actions, or lack of, have consequences. Teach them to pay off their loans and to stop expecting a nanny state to save them from their own bad decisions. If they are age 18 or more they should be responsible for their own decisions, like finding bail to get out of jail, paying their own bills, saving for the future. They need to learn this lesson early. Never pay for their own stuff unless if they are not a student anymore. They need to learn to pay their own bills.