Raising Partners

       When I think about everything that I've been through, and everything that other little girls have been through, it weighs heavily on me that I can't help other children.  I realize that I can't possibly reach out and save everyone in this world, much like a child who wishes to adopt every puppy in the pound to save their sad faces from the bars of their cages.  But recently I came to a most important discovery: I have all the power for a better future.  Aside from the nieces and cousins that I have the power to influence to be strong and help along their journey, I now know that I can go beyond that.  I'm raising two boys of my own and THAT'S where the power is!  Of course I want to instill strength and power into every single little girl on the face of this planet, but what if we didn't have to?  What if we simply raised our boys to be good people?  What if we taught them that no means no, and that they should never touch a woman without their consent?  What would happen if we taught them to cook and clean and raise babies, instead of allowing them to think that only the mommy should do that?  What if, instead of telling them how a household should be run, we showed them?  What if we showed them what a loving relationship was, if we apologized to them when we were wrong, if we cried in front of them when we were sad, and laughed with them when we were happy?  What would happen if we taught our boys that it's okay for them to express their feelings and work through them?  We have already started raising our little girls to be strong and brave in order for them to survive in today's world, but shouldn't we be raising our boys to be more sensitive to the needs of others too?  If I raise my boys to see his female friends, not just look at but truly SEE, then wouldn't that make his future wife happy?  If my son could understand that his girlfriend's feelings are real, even when she is having a hormonal week, then wouldn't her life be that much more full of love?  If he could understand her, and validate her, and support her then she wouldn't have to be hard and tough and hide her emotions.  She wouldn't have to speak out and stand up for herself, because her PARTNER would do it for her and with her.  Boys need to be taught how to take care of themselves, a home, children, and a wife.  We have already taught our daughters how to care for a baby when we bought her that first baby doll.  We already taught her how to cook when we gifted her with a play kitchen and plastic food.  We instill in her to stop being "sassy" and hold her tongue when she speaks her opinion, but we don't do that for our boys.  We buy him sports gear and when he cries we tell him to man up.  Sorry Sam, I refuse.  I think that we should raise our sons and daughters the same, teaching them both the same life skills in the hopes that they both can run a successful household TOGETHER.  I want my sons to grow up to be sensitive.  I want them to come home from work and cook dinner for their children.  I want them to instantly recognize when their wife has had a long day at her job and immediately offer to talk with her or rub her feet.  I want them to respect her body and see her as strong and beautiful, not a maid or a sex object.  The true key to our daughters and granddaughters happiness may not simply lie within the empowerment of the young woman, but within the sensitization of man.
What's your son learning?