Mothers are the
role model for their children of interaction with the opposite sex. How mothers
interact with their spouses teaches their children how adult relationships are
“supposed” to be.
Children learn
through modeling. Your behavior teaches your son and your daughter what is
acceptable or not acceptable in relationships. Open communication and
expression of feelings with your spouse lets your children know it is OK to
feel.
Setting healthy
boundaries in your relationships will automatically help your child set healthy
boundaries in their lives. Boys will learn what it is to respect females. Your
son will be more likely to turn to you for matters of the heart when he sees
you being able to listen to his dad’s feelings.
Girls will learn
to expect respect from males. Girls will learn that they have a right to expect
men to listen to them. This promotes positive self esteem with both boys and
girls. Simply put, they become comfortable with being either male or female.
Both masculinity
and femininity are validated when they are demonstrated through healthy,
regulated behaviors. This keeps us away from the “battle of the sexes”.
***
Ken Thom, MS, LPC is a nationally recognized Christian counselor and
writer. He is available for parent and individual coaching. Ken is a Post
Institute Certified Family Regulatory Therapist, Certified Coach and Great
Behavior Breakdown Instructor as well as a certified BCI parent trainer. Ken's
book Christian Parent Wisdom is a daily scripture based medication book for parenting
children with challenging behaviors. Contact Ken.
