I am not a parenting expert and I don't even play one on TV. I have made some good parenting moves and some bad ones. Right now I think I'll focus on one of the better ones.
When my oldest son was around 11 I started talking to him about growing up. We discussed body changes, attitude changes and the wonderful world of responsibility. One day on the way to a Texas Rangers game I decided to drop a big part of being a man on his small self.
I told him that when I was not home that he was the man of the house. If I was at work or out of town it was his responsibility to do what needed to be done. Mom was still in charge and he didn't get to boss around his siblings but he was the man.
This conversation seemed to start a change in him. He was still as 11 year old goofy as ever but when my wife or I needed him to do something he was (usually) ready and willing. He took ownership in being the earthly protector and the man who got things done.
As fathers it is important for us to hand over some of our responsibility, and for lack of a better word power, to our sons.
What responsibilities have you been able to hand over to your sons? What things should our sons be able to handle?
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