If you have a son or are a son...

Through My Eyes: Navigating Your Sons Journey From a Boy to a Man:

Today I created something special

It is the first part of a parenting guide I made.

“But Eobak, you’re not a parent”.

That’s why I made thus guide from a son’s perspective!

I’ve been blessed to have the best parents in the world so I think that qualifies me to share from my personal experience.

So if you have a son read carefully.

And if you are a son, let me know if you agree with me.

Being a parent is the most rewarding job in the world.

But it can also be one of the most challenging.

As parents, you tirelessly navigate the winding path of raising your children.

You strive to provide us with the best possible upbringing.

Often an upbringing you never had.

All for us to let you down.

Time and time again.

This often has nothing to do with your parenting skills.

This is a part of our journey from a boy

To a man.

And as we grow

We need you to give us the support that we need.

We need space to find ourselves

We need to forge our own path.

With you as the passenger guiding us based on your experience.

Not the driver leading us down your path for us. 

God has blessed us all with different talents.

We all have different purposes to fulfil on this earth.

Trust God and his plan for us.

When you force us to take your route on our journey:

We may not argue with our words because we respect you.

But we often argue with our actions.

• We stop trying

• We look for an escape

• We stop interacting with you as you would want

Sometimes your route is the right way

The quickest way.

The easiest way.

But we need life to teach us a lesson.

I can think of countless things my parents told me and warned me about

But as a young man, I wanted to do it my way.

I thought I knew better.

But life taught me otherwise.

These moments have ended up being defining moments in my life.

I needed to experience things for myself.

I needed to fall flat on my face to learn a lesson.

These are moments that built my character

Humbled me.

And began to turn me into a man.

The same way you let us fall as a baby learning to walk.

So we could learn to get up and persevere.

We often need you to let life knock us down as boys.

So we can grow and get back up as men.

As this series progresses I will go more into this.

But for now, this is the first principle that will help to improve your relationship with your son.

And support him on his self-discovery journey:

1. Advise but don’t demand

Be a supportive passenger guiding him on his journey.

But let him be the driver.

Give him guided freedom, not demanding suffocation.

Sometimes he won’t listen and this will cause him to crash.

But he will learn.

Lessons build character.

Character builds men.

Remember life is a journey

And success isn’t a destination; it’s a lifestyle.

I hope you found this helpful.

If you did please share it with anyone you think it may help.

Whether it’s a fellow parent, or even your own parents.

Together we can make a change.

Eobak