5 Things Every Son Need From His Father

There’s nothing like the father-son relationship. As a boy grows up, there will be many people who influence him and his development into adulthood. As a father, you are, and should be, his most important role model. He needs you. However, today here are 5 things a son needs from his father.

* Love Him Like His Mother

When you love your wife, or the mother of your son, you are showing him how to treat his mother, his sisters, and all the women he’ll meet in his life. This will set the foundation for the relationships he will have later in his life. If you are divorced and the relationship is difficult, do what you can to treat his mother with respect.

* He needs to see you fail, not just succeed

The best teacher is failure. The best type of failure to learn from is someone else’s. When your son sees you fail, and handle the failure well, he sees that it is okay to make mistakes and that mistakes can be great teachers. A boy who is not afraid of making mistakes will grow into a man positioned to accept and conquer great challenges

* He needs your servant leadership

You may or may not be the boss at work. You may or may not be the pastor or minister at church. You may or may not be a leader in your community. But you are the leader of your family. Your son needs to see leadership in your home. He needs to see you leading by serving. When he sees you leading by serving, he will better understand leadership and be able to more effectively lead versus follow his peers. As he grows, he will better lead his family, lead at work, lead at church, and lead in his community.

* He needs you to be present

As you fulfill all the different roles you have, you may be pulled in multiple directions. He needs you to be present in his education, in his social life, in all areas of his life. Some areas are not intended for mom only, or for his friends only. Your presence in all areas will give him the support he needs.

* He needs your love regardless of his choices

You may be the biggest sports junkie not living in Bristol, CT (where ESPN headquarters are located). And your son may not be able to kick a ball if you placed it on his toe, nor care that he can’t. No matter what choices your son makes, he needs you to love him even if they are different than yours. Even when they are wrong choices. Your love and guidance will open the door to trust and acceptance that build your relationship. And it will build his self-esteem.