Top Tips For Raising A Baby Boy

Let Him Play With Every Sort Of Toy

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It's always important for any growing baby and toddler to play with any toys that stimulate them - but it's also important for the parent to not get hung up on what toys are being played with! If your boy wants to play dress up with a doll, let him. If he wants to play with Action Man, let him!

Encourage His Interests!

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In the same vein, no matter what your growing boy takes an interest in, you should encourage what excites him and makes him focused. There are lots of more 'boy' things parents naturally lean towards when they're toddler is growing, like sports, but you should let them take the lead.

Get Outside As Much As Possible

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Growing boys will have a lot of energy they need to get out, and playing outside as much as possible is the best way to avoid them feeling cooped up (or making a mess of your house!). If you have a garden, great! Let them run around and play. If you don't, think of places you can go with outdoor activities that will let them be active.

Don't Stifle His Energy

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With all the energy that comes with having a boy, it's important to never try and stifle that - even if he's been playing all day and he's still going, let him wear himself out! This is also because it's believed that boys learn better in other aspects - like sitting down and reading, or doing their homework - if they're been able to release that physical energy!

Take The Time To Build A Strong Relationship

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Parents are so important in how a boy develops into a man, and the kind of man he'll become - which, we hope, will be respectful and kind. This all begins with how close a relationship you have when they're still very young, so make sure to take the time to build that relationship.

Teach Him About Empathy

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Empathy is one of the most important things someone can learn when they're growing to understand other people, and especially young boys and men. It's a good idea to teach him this as early as possible, to understand how other people are feeling, so they can carry that into manhood!

Use Physical Touch/Cues

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It's believed that boys respond more to physical touch than verbal instruction or words. Physical touch when you're teaching your boy something, trying to direct him another way or even setting limits on what they can and can't do is very helpful when raising a boy. Steer his shoulder or touch his arm, for example.

Praise Him For Trying - Not Whether He Succeeds Or Fails

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It's important to teach boys the importance of trying, not succeeding. A lot of growing boys can get hung up on being the best of the best, and the sooner you teach them (and praise them) for trying their hardest no matter what, the better this will be for their mindset as they grow.

One-On-One Time Is Important!

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One-on-one time as one parent with their baby boy is important as they grow. This will help to not only build that close relationship and teach them things like empathy, but it will also let you have a closer understanding of who they are, what they like to do and who they're growing into!

Give Him Chores For Responsibility

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When your boy is old enough, setting chores around the house to teach them responsibility is key. This will help them to understand the importance of responsibility, but it'll also help them to build confidence and self-esteem when they do a chore, get it right and get the praise!

Be A Great Role Model

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We know that children learn from the behavior of those around them, as well as what they're told is right and wrong, so it's really important to be a great role model for your son - and to make sure others who spend time with him are doing the same. Behave how you'd want him to behave!

Let Him Speak His Feelings - And Listen

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If your son approaches you to talk about something, about how he feels or why he's upset, take the time to listen to him. Don't just brush off his feelings or tell him 'not now' if he's trying to talk to you when you're busy. It's good practice to meet him in the middle with how he's feeling so that he knows his feelings are valid - and that it's okay to talk about them!

Be Involved!

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What you do at home with your son is of course important, but you should also get involved in his life away from home when he gets older. Make sure to get involved with anything he's doing at school, any hobby classes or anything he wants to do socially. This helps for a closer relationship!

Set Those Limits

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It's important to encourage your boy to be the best he can be and thrive with what he wants to do - but that doesn't mean never setting any limits. Limits will help him to develop on his own terms in the best way, and to make sure he's on the right track. He needs those boundaries!

Make Sure Not To Label Him

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As your boy grows, and especially when he starts going to school, he needs to develop his own identity. Labels are really damaging to someone still figuring out who they are, especially if they come from classmates like 'nerd' or 'jock'. Make sure not to label him yourself and give him room to find out who he is!

Focus More On The Positive

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A lot of parents can focus more on the discipline than the positive reinforcement - which is understandable when you need to correct him on bad behaviors. Still discipline them when needed, but don't forget about positive reinforcement - don't only ever tell them when they're doing wrong, make sure to tell them when they're doing right, too!

Encourage Him To Open Up

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One thing boys and men can struggle with is opening up - society might make them think they shouldn't be talking about their emotions, feelings or focusing on anything getting them down. That's why it's important for their parents to not only show them that it's okay to open up, but encourage them to do so.

Let Him Make His Own Mistakes

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As a parent, a knee jerk reaction can be to wrap your child in a bubble to stop them from making mistakes that might hurt them or upset them - but mistakes are key lessons in life, and they need to learn in a supported way. Don't try to fix everything for him - let him figure it out on his own, but be there for him when he's ready.

Be Openly Affectionate!

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Show your boy open affection from a young age, as this will help him to understand that it's okay, as well as help him to feel loved. Give him hugs and pats, and use affectionate words like compliments and that you love him. This will help him to show affection in a better way himself when he's older!

Take Care Of Yourself

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At the end of the day, the only way you can continue to be an amazing parent for your boy is to take care of yourself, too. You need to find time to relax, get support from friends, family and other parents, and keep up with your own hobbies and self-care. That way you'll always be in the best frame of mind to help your son learn and grow!

Be In The Moment

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You should always just enjoy the moment when with your son, and it's a way for you to both be mindful together. Whether you're at home, exploring outside or doing a specific activity, make sure to be in the moment so your mind doesn't wander and you can really focus on getting to know your son's response to things.

Use Positive Words Of Affirmation

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Your baby boy needs to hear positive words of encouragement! They need to know when they're doing something right, but this isn't just about saying 'good job' for doing a chore or getting an activity right. You should use positive affirmation in general, saying you like their smile, their clothes or their hair!

Have One-On-One Time With Each Parent

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It's important to spend time together as a family, but it's also important for your son to have one on one time with each parent individually. This can help them to learn and grow, especially if they're doing different activities with each parent. If you're a single parent, there might be others you want them to have one-on-one time with, like a grandparent.

Teach Him Good Table Manners

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Good table manners are essential no matter whether it's a boy or a girl! Make sure to pay attention to what he's doing and how he's acting during meal times. It's also important to make sure you're sitting him at the table in the first place, even if he doesn't like it, so he can learn - rather than eating on the couch, or snacking on the floor!

Teach Him Confidence

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One of the best things you can teach your boy is confidence in himself and his own abilities, and one key thing you should be doing is making him see what confidence looks like - so you should help him build his own by showing him how you're confident in day to day things (such as not putting yourself down in front of him!).

Show Him Good Sportsmanship!

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Good sportsmanship is what every young boy should learn when they're growing up. They need to know that it's okay to try your best and not always succeed - but that you should never be angry at another person for winning instead of you. Teach him how to say 'well done' to others even if he's lost.

Let Him Watch Others To Learn Manners

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Kids pick up on absolutely everything going on around them, and even though you'll try show him as much as you can and train him for good manners, let him watch other people - like strangers - out and about to learn good manners, too. Talk to him about how that person just moved out of the way to let him pass, how someone apologized for getting in the way, or someone held a door open for someone else. Point it all out!

Get Into A Routine

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Your boy will really thrive from a routine when he's learning and growing, so make sure to stick to a good schedule for your day to day so he understands what to expect. Huge changes in routine can really throw off very young boys, especially if you're trying to teach them something.

Learn Their Love Language

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Your growing boy will likely have a preferred love language, whether this is physical touch (he always wants hugs!), words of affirmation (he performs better when you give him compliments) or gift giving (you shouldn't spoil him of course, but he might react more positively to a reward system).

Let Them Know It's Okay To Be Upset

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You should never try to teach your son that it's not okay to be upset - we know this can be difficult if they're having a tantrum over nothing, but it's better to tell them it's okay to cry in general, but not act up over nothing! And try not to hide when you're upset, too, so they can see that it's normal and you can talk to them about it.

But Teach Them How To Handle It

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While teaching them that it's okay to be upset, it's equally important to teach your son how to properly handle his negative emotions. Teach him it's okay to be upset but not to throw something across the room as a response! Work through a healthy way of what he should do when he's upset (for example, come and talk to you).

Know That Other Boys Might Not Always Be The Right Fit

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When you have a baby boy, your natural instinct might be to let him play with other boys, or gravitate towards other boys in the playground. While this is encouraged, if you get the sense he's not fitting in - or he's told you so - it's okay to remove him from that situation. Some boys might not be the right fit for the type of person he is (they might be too loud, too rough or like activities your son doesn't like).

Let Him Play With Who He Wants To Play With

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Better yet, let him take the lead in choosing who he wants to play with and the activities he wants to get involved in, when he's at public play areas. If he wants to play with the girls plaiting their hair instead of the group of boys being too loud, let him! Choose friends for him who will bring out the best in him.

Try Not To Say 'Can't'

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Your boy will pick up on the kind of language you're using, so if you're only ever using negative language like 'I can't do that/you can't do that/I can't cope with this', they're going to pick up on that. Try to avoid using 'can't' around your son, and encourage him not to say it either!

Make A 'Family Culture'

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This is entirely what you want it to be, and what works for you and your boy! But generally it's a family routine you can all stick to, to help bond and grow. Your family culture could include baking together once a week, reading together every night or having a family dinner in a restaurant once a month.

Teach Him To Be Self-Sufficient

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Your boy needs to know he can do things on his own - and rather than tell him that, you need to show him by sometimes pulling yourself back from doing everything for him (we know it's difficult when they're still so young!). And don't forget to give him a huge congratulations when he does something for himself!

Don't Bribe Him

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We know how tempting it is to throw a big bag of candy at them just to get them to do what you want, because you're tired, you're a busy parent and they're a handful! But you'll thank yourself later for not using bribes! They need to learn the right way of doing things simply because it's right, not because there's something in it for them.

Don't Make Him Grow Up Too Fast!

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Kids grow up far too fast anyway, so you'll want to enjoy every minute your little boy is still little - but most importantly, he needs to enjoy being little while he can! So try not to force too many responsibilities or 'grown up' ideals on him too early, and let him be a child.

Embrace His Quirks

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There's no right or wrong when it comes to raising your boy in terms of their specific personality - certain things work, certain things don't and they might end up being a kid that you never expected or 'quirks' you find more challenging. Embrace who they are and adapt around it!

Make Them Repeat Things If They're Being Disrespectful

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One of the best ways to teach your growing boy respect is to always flag up disrespect in a patient way. If they say something wrong, try not to yell or ignore them. Ask them to kindly try again with something more respectful, or flag up their disrespectful behavior by saying 'you shouldn't interrupt me when I'm speaking' or 'please don't talk so loudly in here' etc.!