Ways To Strengthen Your Father-Son Relationship

The father-son relationship can be complex. Fathers and sons with widely different interests can find it hard to relate to one another. Sometimes dads and sons feel competitive against one another. Sometimes their male tendencies to not communicate feelings are compounded as both want a better father-son relationship but neither one quite knows how to go about it.

To see the full article by fatherhood expert Wayne Parker click here.

Here are some key elements to creating and building a strong father-son relationship.

1. Recognise that sons are influenced by their fathers. Whether we know it or not, our sons learn about being a man primarily by watching their fathers.

2. Develop common interests.

3. Don’t be afraid of a little boisterous play. My boys, especially when they were young, loved anything that was active and rough. A little wrestling in the backyard seemed to go a long way. It seems like with boys, this little bit of wild behavior is a bonding experience.

4. Get involved in father-son activities. It could be anything from watching sports together, camping, hiking, gardening, fishing etc but these experiences create opportunities to grow closer.

5. Listen to your sons. Starting from the earliest ages of our sons to listen to them without judgment and without trying to fix things too soon will go a long way to building a lasting relationship.

6. Don’t be afraid of the big talk. Take the time to teach your sons about sex and relationships. Being open to having these conversations will help your sons develop better attitudes about sex and girls in general.

7. Focus on the positives.

8. Make one on one time.

Focusing on our sons, spending positive time together and talking about life lessons, scattered with a large dose of quiet and engaged listening, will help fathers and sons develop nurturing and meaningful relationships and help our sons form attitudes which will allow them develop into men in the richest sense of that term.