To moms of little boys

You are not only raising your son. You are raising someone else's husband and someone else's dad.

These words caught my attention while I was flipping through some posters.
These are one of the moments where we might have overlooked a glaring fact and realise it suddenly at some other time.
While raising gender neutral kids at home may not be easy especially if you are from a male dominated or conservative society, it's still possible to instill some basic values of gender equality in your son.
It's very true that the little efforts that you put in your son's habit and character is going to make him happy and someone is going to be really thankful for raising your son that way!

Here are few of my suggestions.

Teach your son to fold his sheets on waking up
Making bed before and after sleep is one of those annoying yet can't go without it job.
A clean bedroom posses great powers to alter you mood.
Teach your little son to fold his sheets and keep pillows in order once he wakes up.

Teach your son to sweep and mop the floor
Gone are the days where men find it a threat to their dignity if they hold a broom in hand.
This generation has progressed to an extent where cleaning your own home has nothing to do with gender.
Keep a separate broom and a mop that's convenient for your kid to use.He will be happy and excited to help around.

Teach your son to cook his own food.
Wheather cooking food is a passion or not, cooking skills are a necessity to every human being.
Encourage your son to do little chores like peeling carrots ,kneading dough.
You might come up with age appropriate jobs in kitchen for your son.You can teach your teenage son to cook a staple meal.

Teach your son to carry the baggages in travel.
A true gentleman cares for the women in his family.You can even encourage your toddle to help you with luggages.Older kids can be asked to move baggages to and from the car or in transit.
This gives them a sense of responsibility and they will be proud to do it for you.

Teach you son to hold the door for you and other people in the family
Ever time you go to a supermarket or even at home, let your son hold the door for you and even for strangers when necessary.

Teach your son to keep his wardrobe organised.
Women complain in most households that it's just impossible for men to keep their wardrobe organised.
Teach your son to pick his clothes patiently and keep his wardrobe intact.

These are a few examples.
You can teach your son all the household chores that you do.
Expect Initial reluctance. But by not nagging them all the time and by using an affirming tone, it's best to make your kids do chores at home.In due course, these chores which where initially done with contempt, will become a part of their lifestyle.

Most importantly, teach your sons to respect women , to honour their dignity and to protect them whenever necessary.

How to cultivate reading habit in kids

Reading books is one of the best hobbies for anyone.The reasons may be obvious.
It improves imagination skills, improves language, vocabulary.
Kids who read don't turn to television and gadgets much.
Also reading habit promotes reasoning and thinking skills.

Let's first look at the common mistakes we do in the process of making kids read.

Never force kids to read books
Some kids are just not so impressed with books or they may have attached some stigma with reading. Whatever the reason is, forcing only makes them repel away books, otherwise they might explore.

Never choose books that you want them to read and impose it on them.
So you may want your kid to be a General knowledge expert and you decide to subscribe to a monthly GK mag.This only leaves a feeling of being forced and may them hate the subject forever!

If you have a toddler who refuses to touch books, let them go and try introducing books to them in a different manner and different time.

Here are the dos

Start a reading habit for yourself.
You may wonder at this if you never have the habit of reading, but it certainly pays.Action speak louder than words.If the kids see you enjoying your book they might try to imitate.As for improving your reading habit, you may not choose bulky novels and confusing titles. Just begin reading a magazine of your choice.

For babies as young as a month old, they are fascinated buy different sounds.Read out loud to them by making funny voices.They will begin associating book with fun.

Older babies love the touch and feel of books and letting them touch and turn pages looking at pictures are fine

Toddlers are challenging in every aspect and making them sit with books is even more challenging. You may want to buy simple,light weight books that are easy to hold. Begin by telling them stories in an animated way. Remember, your effort in making  the story interesting plays a huge part.Kids will truly love it if you make silly faces and funny noises while telling them a story from the book.

For toddlers and older children, take them to a library or a book store where they get to choose books they love. Guide them to choose books and avoid imposing on them ' a really nice book'

Keep renting or buying books periodically.Kids love new things everyday and giving them new books once they are done with the old one, cultivates the interest to read. It kills the boredom of using the same book again.

If you have budget constraints in buying books, you may rent them or even exchange books from family and friends who have kids of the same age group.They may even love the idea.

Finally, if your kid refuses to read, don't advise them on benefits of reading or try to force them into reading.This might create long time impact on them regarding books and the reading habit.
What did you do to make your kids read. Please share in the comments section!