My son just turned five years old last month.
Now before I go on I want to let everyone know that I'm blogging this because I am still feeling shocked, awed and excited all at the same about the greatest news in the entire universe this week. The wedding of Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo! Oh my gosh, I thought it was not going to happen. But it is really true that the universe listens. I am one the many people who saw the drama Descendants of the Sun (can someone please explain to me because I still don't understand why that is the title but anyway...) who prayed and hoped that Big Boss and Beauty were a real thing! Oh for how many weeks after I've finished watching the drama I kept wishing that they would really end up together. Ever after. Forever and ever!
I just can't contain my excitement. I can't help but smile every time I think about this news. Whether I'm in the bus, on the train, or walking haha!
Song Hye Kyo is a wise woman to have chosen Song Joong Ki. Smart move, girl! But who would not like to marry forever such a handsome, smart, humble gentleman?
So I'm thinking now, how do I raise my little boy so that he would be like Song Joong Ki? How do I prepare him so he would grow up a gentleman? How do I train him so he would treat a lady like a Queen?
Since, I'm a Filipino, I will be addressing this to Filipino parents, grandparents, guardians, ates, kuyas, titas and titos...
10 ways to teach little boys to be a gentleman:
Speak politely. For Filipinos, we teach our kids to use "po" and "opo" when conversing with older people. I'm glad my son uses "opo" all the time whenever I ask him questions and ask him to do something. We train the kids at home to address their elders with these words even if we sometimes talk to them in our native Waray languange. "Po" and "opo" are in Tagalog. I have never heard of the Waray version of "po" in my entire life and "opo" is simply "oo" in Waray. The kids speak a mixture of Tagalog, Waray and English at home so we kinda adopted the "po" and "opo".
Mano po. In Waray and most Bisaya areas, we call this "bless" or "magbless" or "mag amen". We bow our head toward the hand of the elder and press the hand on our forehead. This is another very traditional Filipino gesture of showing respect to elders that I believe should always be taught to our children. The earlier the better so they will really get used to doing it.
Helping the women he's with to her chair before he sits down. This one I would really really like to teach my son. This will be the basic for his future dates. Well, not in the near future I hope but someday in the future when I'm ready haha! It is always a great thought picturing my son pulling a chair for me while we are at a restaurant or even in the house. I imagine him looking so cute while doing this.
Open doors for girls and elders. All doors. Easy but very charming way. We can definitely teach this to our kids.
Look people in the eye. This would not be easy if your child is the very shy type like my son. But through practice and gentle reminder every time he speaks with anyone, in time this would just come natural to him.
Help others. We can teach our kids simple things like helping carry our bags, the ones that they can only carry of course.
Table manner. We must teach our kids to always sit up straight when eating, not put their elbows on the table and not to speak when their mouth is full.
Teach him about money. Yes, this definitely should be included here. We need to show them that money is earned through hard work, dedication and commitment to what they're good at. Showing your appreciation of the hard work he has done and rewarding him are great training in work ethics.
Spending time with him. Letting him know how proud you are of him for doing something nice and polite. Spending time with him is one important way of honoring your child. He would feel special and loved. In the future when it is his turn to show appreciation, he would do this one, too. We girls love it when our guys spend time with us, don't we. So we train them now so that they would become the men we want to them to be.
Introduce him to God. Because I believe all gentlemen respect and love God.
Oh and here's more I'd like to add. Trust in your son's abilities. Let him have dreams. Love him. Pray for him. Everyday. For my son, I pray that God blesses his present and future. That God blesses his future wife, children and grandchildren. That God guides my son so that he would focus on his purpose and that he uses his skills to serve Him and others. That he becomes the best that he can be in this universe.
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