This Is Gonna Be Tough!

If you teach him how to be a good person, he'll grow up to be a good man. If you worry too much about him being a man, history shows he might not be a very kind person.

Good luck.

Off the top of my head - teach him to respect you and his sister. A man respects women. Teach him to stand up for himself and others. A man is empathetic. Teach him to do chores and take initiative. A man takes care of his immediate and larger community. Maybe it will be hard to teach him to shave or play basketball or drive a stickshift ( I know I am stereotyping here), but I think this is the smallest part of it. For the "little" stuff, maybe a buddy's dad could help out?

Find good men to be involved in his life - teachers, coaches, mentors of all kinds.

Teach him to respect women and what they do to raise a child-and he will be a man.

i think teaching him to love others as himself, use his manners, consider others' feelings, be a hard worker, and to be honest, is all you need. let the rest take care of itself. he's a man genetically...nothing you can do to mess that up! :)

guys i know who were raised by single moms have always been so great..i was a single mom but now i have a boyfriend that lives w/ us..but i feel more like the guy sometimes..lol!
your son will be fine..he will learn to be more respectful towards women and will really treasure you if your relationship is solid..enjoy the journey..little boys love their mama so much.

D.

Get the book: The Wonder of Boys

Some of the best men I know were raised by single moms! Whenever you have the chance for him to have a truly positive male role model in his life-foster that. Talk to him always about everything! The fact you're thinking of this makes me feel like you're going to do a fine job. Just never feel like YOU need to be in a relationship to give him a father figure.

of course - do not know why you'd think or believe otherwise!

Respecting a woman, taking care of themselves )cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc) and respecting themselves are major parts of being a man (or a woman!). Withholding emotions, never crying or sharing how they feel - that does not make a man a man.

Being strong comes in many forms... and women have the monopoly on quite a bit of those! Stop doubting yourself.

To me this isn't a LOL question, because I've been there. If you have successfully raised a child to the age of 17, and haven't gone off the deep end with alcohol or drugs, you'll do fine with your other children (male or female).

I totally think you can teach him what a good man is, but I don't think you can model it because you are a woman. I know when people would tell my mom she was my mom and my dad, she would say, 'no, I am her mom' :D You can't be a father but you can teach him what it is to be a great person and leader and man by giving him all the tools you can to make good decisions etc. There are some things he will just have to navigate on his own as he grows into a man, he will be OK. I think a great thing to do would be get him in a program like big brothers and sisters. I had a big sister, well four of them actually, growing up and it was awesome. I also had a lot of great male influences in my life. I think God has a way of bringing men a long to help out, I would pray for that for my sons if anything ever happened to their dad. My best friend growing up had a fantastic dad and I sort of adopted him and looked up to him. My choir director had a wonderful influence on my life in college, there were men around that just took me under their wing since I didn't have a father. I think that will happen for your son as well. The main thing a father does is give his children a sense of identity. Because I didn't have a father my mother taught me much about God my heavenly father, and I found my identity in him. So I don't know your feelings about God, but He definitely got me through a lot of rough places. I wish you the best and I think it is great you are thinking about this now, good for you! There is a fantastic book called 'Wild at Heart' by John Eldrege you might want to check out, it is all about what make boys and men tick, it is very helpful to read as a woman actually!! Good luck I am raising two boys so I know what a handful they can be!!

Some of the things that pop into my head are there from conversations I've had w/ friends who have boys and spoil them.

Teach them to do laundry. So many men won't, or don't.

Teach him to cook. And to clean up after himself.

Teach him to stand up for himself, and his family. But not to be a mama's boy :)

Teach him to respect women. All of the girls he will lust after and maybe want to take advantage of, or just use for physical fun (no insult intended here to your son) is someone's sister. Teach him to respect another girl like he wants guys to respect his sister.

Teach him to open doors for you and his sister and anyone else. Teach him to give up his seat on the bus for another woman. Teach him to pay for dinner.

The things you would have liked to see in your husband, or did see and liked, those are the things you should teach him. The things you didn't like, let him know why it's not ok without bashing his dad.

yes you can, but it would be a good ideal to try and find some safe male figures that are willing to be in his life. I to am/wsa a single mother as well. and i come froma family of girls. i have one uncle and only two male adult cousins and one lives in china. but my uncle spemds time with him and my new cousin(recently married into the family) will spend time with him as well. I got into a relationship almost two years ago and i got extremely lucky in finding a man that gets along great with my son and enjoys soending time with him. his childrens mother like to play games with his kids so alot of milestones that he missed with his son he can go through them with my son. but try big brother org. or try to find a mentoring program. it is very wise that you rae thinking about his now! best wishes.

I think it is a mom's job to teach her son how to be a man..... we women are their biggest critics lol.
But seriously, a woman is perfectly equipped to do just that. You teach him how to be firm but kind. Show him that being a MAN is taking care of his wife, kids, home. Being the best person he can beby chasing his dreams and being true to himself. Show him that he can do whatever he wants, and that you'll help him get there. And show him that's there's no "womens" work or "mens" work. Its all equal!

I would make sure that you have a good, strong, consistent male role model around for him to look up to. Whether that is an Uncle, grandfather, neighbor, or one of those "big brothers". I firmly believe men learn how to be strong men from other men.

Yes, you can. I don't think that women are unqualified to raise a son on their own. However, it's good for your son to have some male role models as he grows up. If you have close male family members who can take on this role, great. Otherwise, there are teachers, coaches, scout leaders (Boy Scouts would be great for him) and don't forget about Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Also as he gets to those older, teen years, your daughter may have a husband/partner to take on that role.