Educating the Son

An article on AskMen.com mentioned good manners and chivalry when it comes to dating. And reminded me of a conversation I had with my son this weekend.

I may not be able to teach him some things (like shaving his face) easily, but one thing I can do is help him stand out from the crowd when it comes time to get into the dating scene. Being a chick, I know what girls like, and what kind of things make a bloke different in a good way. Much of it does have to do with the chivalry/good manners mentioned in the article above.

Although it's not expected these days, it's nice to have the door opened for you (when it comes to cars, I reciprocate by leaning over and opening his door for him before he gets there - much to the surprise of some! :-) ), to be treated with respect and consideration. It's small things that make you feel special - and those I can pass on to my son. Instead of the bumbling, lumbering, awkward teen stuff, perhaps I can guide him toward confidence and "mindful" dating - doing those little things that make all the difference.

Lucky for him, I also possess a girl's mind - so can interpret a lot of the mixed signals teen girls tend to give out.. :-)

He hasn't yet shown an interest in getting a girlfriend, though I can see he's thinking about it. Many of his friends are already hanging out with arms around some chick or other, but he's a "late bloomer". Perhaps if he didn't spen quite so much time on the computer..? :-) I suspect once school starts up again - high school years - we'll see a few changes. I only hope he'll still feel he can talk to me about anything and everything then.