Dear Dr. Laura,
After breakfast this morning, my 6-year-old boy said, "Girls like the boys who fight for them." I looked at him quizzically then said, "And it's nice to have doors opened too." I asked him where he'd learned that girls liked the boys who fought for them. "Everywhere," he said. Then he went on, "Boys have to do ALL the work. They have to fight AND open doors..." I just smiled and said, "It's nice if they're polite too. Don't you think I do any work here at home?" He replied, "Yes! I mean before there are kids, the boy has to do all the work."
I let it sit for a bit and then said, "Do you know why the boy has to do work for a girl to like him?" He looked at me. "Because the girl has to make sure he's a good man who will take care of the kids if they get married and have a family. If he won't take care of her, and only thinks of himself, he won't take care of the kids and his wife." He then said, "I think of others. You tell me I do that all the time." "That's right, I do," I said. "You're very good about thinking about others, not just yourself. You'll be a great husband and daddy!"
This teachable moment was possible because his dad works hard so I can stay home to raise our kids! There are so many little teachable moments when you have time to just "BE" together. If we were rushing around all the time we would miss these moments and our son would grow up to be a male, not a MAN!
Justine
