Boys Will Be Boys

I wanted to share a link to another blog post that I thought was really great: Boys Will Be Boys

I don't think I ever realized there was such an unflattering stereotype for boys! I have always had a positive view of boys and really wanted at least one son. It surprises me to hear other parents hope for a girl, thinking they're easier to raise. I know that may not be the only reason someone wants a daughter, but I do hear it often.

This has become my soapbox. So excuse me if I ramble on a bit, but I can't help it. Boys are every bit as wonderful and amazing as girls! They have just as much potential as a girl to learn and be anything they want to be.

Nick and I are guilty for labeling Connor as a typical boy. He'll happily play in the dirt, water, etc. and get dirty and see say "well, he is a boy!". As if girls don't ever get dirty??

The thing is, we don't think of typical boy stuff as a bad thing. We love to see our son romping joyfully outdoors, being curious about bugs, feeding worms to his turtle, etc. I think God made boys a certain way...they grow up to be men who are strong and brave and protective. Not that girls can't be those things too, but we tend to not even make girl/boy comparisons. We simply choose to celebrate the special things that make boys boys.

I found a book at Big Lots not too long ago called "Amazing Tales for Making Men out of Boys" by Neil Oliver. I bought it for the future and I am so looking forward to the day we can read it to Connor. It is full of stories about brave and selfless deeds, challenges and goals, courage and heroism. For example, the story of D-Day and Omaha Beach, Shackleton's Boat Journey, and Apollo 13. I love the back description that says "Becoming a man used to be about comradeship and standing by your friends whatever the circumstances. And it meant that sometimes it was more important to die a hero than live a coward's life."

Interesting huh? Very much not politically correct as far as I'm concerned. These days, all I hear is that it's better to be gender neutral. That emphasizing what it means to be a boy or a girl is a bad thing. Apparently we're getting to the point where using the words "she" and "he" are a bad thing as well. It really makes me wonder how these gender neutral kids will grow up.

We are probably in the minority, but we'll raise our son(s) to be godly men. Like the post I linked to above, there is more to being a boy than being rambunctious. Our boys have so much capacity to be many things if we train them well. My little boy isn't even two years old, yet I already see in him both sweetness and determination, gentleness and strength, courage and sensitivity, an athlete and an artist. I pray every day that he'll embrace his masculinity, that he'll be aware of the special gifts God gave him to be a MAN.

I'm not totally opposed to the saying "boys will be boys". I think what really matters is how you're saying it: is it an insult, an excuse for bad behavior? Or a good thing? Let it be a good thing.

I liked the ending to the original post: "Boys will be who we teach them to be. So let's give them the chance, have the proper expectations, and teach them well. Then boys will be amazing."