5 Things I’ve Learned as a Boy Mom

things i learned by being a boy mom

I’ll never forget laying on the examining table as an ultrasound revealed that I was carrying four BOYS.  It seemed foreign, surreal, and overwhelming to process. I never imagined what a houseful of boys looked like. Hadn’t the rarity and shock of being pregnant with four at the same time been enough to wrap my head around?

Fast forward five years, as cliché and cheesy as it may sound, I wouldn’t have it any other way. These boys are living a life of brotherhood that makes grown men envious. They wake up to a day of uncharted adventures and go to sleep surrounded with their best buddies. I’m blessed everyday to be surrounded by their giggles, scheming, imaginations, and the unique ways they love me in return.

It may not always be pretty or clean or calm or what I expected, but it’s a life full of beauty. Everyday, I’m learning more about how they are wired, how they learn, and hopefully how they can thrive best.

Here are a few things being a boy mom has taught me thus far:

1. Boys need adventure. They need to be able to act out rescue missions, explore nature’s playground, get grass stained knees, and take some {supervised} risks. They learn so much through experience rather than just instruction.

exploring nature and having adventures with boys

2. Boys ruin stuff. Most of the time it’s completely unintentional.  They aren’t doing it to be destructive and unappreciative.  They are just the innately rougher gender. Although I want them to understand that things have value, I want them to grasp that their hearts are more important than just “stuff”.  Their attitudes and character should demand more of my attention than an unintentional spill on the the carpet or crayon on the wall.

3. Boys eat up your encouragement as much as the food in your pantry. There’s not much that lights them up more than a verbal assurance that they are brave, smart, handsome, kind, or responsible.

reading a bedtime story with daddy in bunk bed

4. Boys’ fun is loud. This wasn’t an easy adjustment for me. I grew up with a 9 year gap between myself and my closest in age brother.  Therefore, a lot of my childhood functioned almost like an only child. I was accustomed to parents who didn’t raise their voice and I played contently in quiet.  Sometimes I have to take breaks from the constant rumble, but there’s beauty in the noise if you listen.

5. Boys need boundaries. Their hearts need instruction, direction, and an understanding of what is expected. Our house could be pure chaos and disorder if we allowed them to rule the roost.  And while that may sound “easier” or more fun, it’s not where they thrive best. Boundaries as stale as it sounds,  give way to less stress, less disappointment, and  less commotion. Things go so much smoother when we communicate what our boys should anticipate, and what we expect from them in certain situations. It also gives them freedom to be wild and rowdy when appropriate. It simplifies things – and that’s where we flourish.

boundaries in raising boys

How about YOU – what has parenting boys/girls taught you?