Every man will be rejected at some point, whether from a career standpoint or a romantic one. When that rejection comes, it’s important to knowhowtodealwithit, but not everyone does.
Boys who don’t learn this essential skill often grow up to be very confused adults. They end up facing severe emotional challenges both in adolescence and beyond. They may struggle socially and get involved in negative behaviors that can impact their entire lives.
As a parent, you have a responsibility to build up your sons and teachthem how to be mentally strong. Godly men know how to handle rejection well, and it’s in your hands to teach them to do so. If you’re wondering where to start in this noble pursuit, here are a few ideas.
Always comfort him and validate his experience.
Rejection is bound to happen, and when it does, you can teach your sons to handle it from a young age simply by acknowledging it. Comfort your son in his sadness, and teach him that it’s okay to feel upset, but that it’s important to move on. This will build up a type of psychological muscle memory that will combat the ego and automatically kick into gear when they get hurt in the future.
Teach your son to fail.
Rejection should be treated as a normal part of life. Kids need to learnthatit’sokaytofail, and that it’s an excellent learning experience when it happens. Remind your son that his failure is not a definition of who he is, but a learning experience to help him become who he wants to be.
Don’t put the focus on achievements.
Rather than focusing on achievements, such as getting good grades in school, winning a basketball game, or qualifying for the best colleges, parents should focus on their sons’ positive personality traits, such as courage, resiliency, kindness, and charm. This teaches boys to rely on their own personal strengths when the going gets rough rather than on their possessions or title. Let your son take the reins for awhile.
It might be tempting to stay in the driver’s seat during the entire parenting process, but kids will never learn unless you let them run a course of trial and error. You can’t solve every problem for him, and doing so may handicap your son to the point where he can’t handle things when the going gets rough. When you let your son make his own choices to a certain degree, he’ll be able to practiceeverythingyou’vetaught him, and he’ll learn by experience what he should do to remain mentally strong in any given situation.
Tyler Jacobson is a father, husband, and writer, with experience as a content writer and outreach coordinator for HelpYourTeenNow. Tyler has offered honest advice and humor to struggling parents and teens. He has researched and written on education problems, disorders, the world of social media, addiction, and pressing issues with raising a teen today. Follow Tyler on: Twitter | Linkedin
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Tyler Jacobson is a husband, father, freelance writer with experience with organizations that help troubled teens and parents. His areas of focus include: parenting, social media, addiction, mental illness, and issues facing teenagers today. Follow Tyler on: Twitter | LinkedIn
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Eduardo Quintana is an accomplished writer, speaker and blogger.
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