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20 Ways to Train Your Son to be a Great Husband

Overview: As you train your son, do you ever think about what kind of husband he’ll be someday? Great husbands don’t just happen. We need to be intentional training our sons.

Someday, God willing, most of our sons will become husbands. Many of us parents are already praying for the future spouses of our children. Prayer is very important!

At the same time, we also need to be sure we are preparing our sons to become good husbands and fathers as much as we possibly can.

20 Ways to Train Your Son to Be a Great Husband

“ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 

Are we actively engaging in training our sons to be good husbands? Learning to be a good husband doesn’t just happen. God wants husbands to be willing to lay down their lives for their families.

It doesn’t come naturally to put other people before ourselves. If our boys are to become good husbands and fathers, we need to intentionally train them. It also helps if they are surrounded by good examples.

Let me be clear. There are also plenty of traits we should be focusing on for those of us who are raising daughters. It takes two people who are fully committed to creating a good marriage. And I hope that the parents of my future daughters-in-law are actively working to help prepare their daughters to be good wives as well.

But since I blog about raising sons, the focus of this post is for parents with sons.

If we want to intentionally train our sons to be good husbands, there are 20 traits to keep in mind.

Train Your Son to be the Spiritual Leader of his Home

1 – Disciple of Jesus

Does he have a relationship with Jesus Christ? Does he take time to pray and do devotions on a regular basis?

2 – Willing to lead spiritually

Will he take responsibility for leading family devotions? Will he be an accountability partner for his wife? Will he take his job of praying for his family seriously?

3 – Willing to forgive

We all make mistakes. A great husband needs to be willing to forgive his wife and children when they do something that causes hurt or harm.

4 – Willing to apologize

Our sons will also make mistakes and we need to teach our sons to take responsibility when this happens.

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Boys

Train Your Son to Cherish his Wife

5 – Does your son know how to be a gentleman?

Does he open doors for people? Does he let women through the door before him or let them take the first cookie from the plate?

6 – Is your son a good listener?

All women want to know that their husband is willing to really listen to them… to listen to hear rather than listening to respond.

7 – Will he be in tune in to her needs?

Does he care enough about other people to ask them how he can help? If he senses that something is wrong, is he willing to probe? When he sees her working, is he willing to jump in and help her?

8 – Is he able to give a good compliment?

Women love to receive sincere and honest compliments. Does he notice what other people do? Does he have a desire to make people feel good about themselves? Is he appreciative?

9 – Will he want to invest in their relationship?

Marriage is hard! Our sons need to be willing to do the work to make their marriages successful. Will he take her on dates? Will he be willing to learn how to communicate with his wife? Will he spend time with her versus being alone or with his friends?

Train Your Son to be a Good Father

10 – Baby skills

Does he know how to hold a baby, entertain a baby, and change a diaper?

11 – Kid skills

Is he willing to play with younger kids? Will he get down on their level and have fun with them? Is he willing to do things that they enjoy doing in order to connect with them?

12 – Does he look out for others?

Even as teens or younger, our sons need to develop the ability to look at the world around them and to jump in where they see a need. My oldest son rarely drives anywhere without checking with friends or fellow teammates to see if they need a ride.

He works hard to make sure everyone is included when his buddies all get together. And he is willing to contact cousins who are hurting or who are lonely and just need to hear a friendly voice.

The habits he is forming of caring for the needs of others will definitely translate into helping him to be a good father someday, if that’s the path that God has for him.

Train Your Son to be a Provider for his Family

13 – Balance

Does he have the ability and desire to provide for his family without being a workaholic?

14 – Marketable skills

Is he technology savvy? Does he work hard? Does he have a good, moral character? Is he dependable?

15 – Job Experience

I’m an advocate of encouraging kids to hold summer jobs as soon as they are able. Even young boys can earn money by doing odd jobs around the neighborhood.

As soon as boys are 14 or 15, they can learn a lot of responsibility by working for area greenhouses or farmers. And at age 16, the job opportunities expand exponentially. The skills and confidence our sons gain by holding summer jobs are incredible.

→ Related Content: 10 Areas of Essential Life Skills for Teenage Boys

Train Your Son How to Maintain a Household

16 – Chores

Can he do the dishes by hand? Is he comfortable loading the dishwasher? Can he do a load of laundry? Will he dust and vacuum when needed? Wives love it when their husbands jump in and perform tasks in these areas.

17 – Yard work

Does he know how to mow the lawn? Does he understand that weeds need to be pulled? Is he comfortable using a weed wacker, a chainsaw, a rototiller, and other various yard tools?

18 – Handyman skills

Does he understand that houses need to be painted? Can he complete simple plumbing and electrical tasks? Has he ever put up drywall or laid a wood floor?

19 – Car repair

Does he know how to change a flat tire? Has he ever changed the oil in his car? Does he understand that various fluid levels need to be checked and maintained? Can he make simple car repairs? Does he know who to call if something breaks that he can’t fix?

Train Your Son to Have Good Hygiene Skills

20 – Take a shower, brush your teeth, etc.

These are pretty self-explanatory. Wives are glad that their husbands are willing to get their hands dirty – but they are also glad when they are willing to clean up afterward!  🙂

By the way, just because your tween or younger son resists taking showers or brushing his teeth doesn’t mean you’ve failed in this area. Our boys’ hygiene habits change dramatically when they hit the mid-teen years.

And if they don’t change on their own, then don’t be afraid to set some ground rules with your son so that he will understand the type of cleanliness you expect.

All of our sons are unique and have different personalities. We can’t expect them all to master everything written above. And frankly, we may not see some of these character qualities pop out in our sons until they meet a girl for which they are willing to make the effort!

However, the above list is a great one to keep in mind as we are raising our sons. Steven Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People says we should “begin with the end in mind.” That is also true when raising our boys.

If we want our boys to become great husbands and fathers, we need to work on their character development from a young age. If we aim high and keep our goal in mind, there is a much higher probability that we will be proud of the husband that our son becomes someday.

Question – What other skills/traits do you think we should work on with our sons? Have you found any specific training to be especially valuable for your sons? Please leave a comment below.

20 Ways to Train Your Son to Be a Great Husband

13 thoughts on “20 Ways to Train Your Son to be a Great Husband”

  1. These are great – thank you! We bought a book a while back called Plants Grown Up, and after reading through this blog, it reminds me of many of the projects in it, all designed to help our sons grow up and mature as young men and disciples of Christ. My boys are very young yet, but this is a resource I’ll be using over the years to help them develop some of these traits.

    1. Michelle Caskey

      You’re welcome. I haven’t heard of that book… I’ll have to check it out. Yes, it’s important to start with our sons when they’re young. They grow up so fast! Hope you have a wonderful day – and thanks for taking the time to comment! 🙂

  2. Love this list! I also believe it’s helpful to teach our sons to be able to admit when they’re wrong and express that verbally. It seems to be so difficult for some men to say “I was wrong” out loud.

    1. Michelle Caskey

      Ooooooh, yeah, that’s a good one, Randa. I don’t know about you… but this is also a hard one for me… Thanks for adding this one to the list. Probably a great skill for the majority of us to work on. 😉

  3. Melissa Peterson

    I believe it is also important to train them to be a good citizen and love their country and be civil servants. Boy Scouts is a great help with this training.

  4. I have to add that it is important to teach your son not to pee on the toilet. Neither their mother or future wife wants to see that mess.

  5. Any advice on how to reroute if we’ve struggled teaching our boys these important things and they have started to become selfish, entitled and lazy?

  6. Lora Burke-Mulkey

    Delaying gratification. Controlling impulsivity. What to do with anger, anger happens and having a plan ahead of time can save them! How to identify emotions both in name and how they feel, how to recognize them in others. To be analytical both in decisions and after the fact, like xyz happened how could this have played out differently, next time it presents what might be a good plan to already in place. And my two personal rules, 1. Evoke the power of the pause, in that pause be analytical. 2. Think over “what purpose will my words serve?” If they tear down another, hurt feelings, end any potential for a real conversation, or are just to release my own anger then I should rethink my words. Words are very powerful both in positive and negative ways!

  7. Kathryn Deans

    I am an aide for special needs junior high class. We deal with an all boys class except for one girl. They do have extreme challenges. They come from broken homes and la couple of the boys have gone to different foster homes. Some have experienced much sadness due to their parents’ addictions.
    We deal a lot with anger, anxiety, suicidal tendencies and lack of self-confidence. Please send me your ideas on what to teach these young men and woman about learning to heal. Also, what would be the first important skills they should learn.

    Thank you for any and all help you are able to offer.

  8. My husband passed away this year. I wish he would have taught young men how to be a good husband because he was the very best. Some of the simple things he did but so important and valuable in our marriage was to greet me every morning with a smile and a kiss. Also, without fail, to end the night with a kiss and to tell me he loves me. He would stop whatever he was doing whenever I came home, kiss me, greet me and ask about my day or if I needed help bringing in groceries or whatever. He took total responsibility for our home and I was his helper, like it should be. We made every decision together as husband and wife; always jointly. He was a tireless worker at work and home but always had time for me. He made me feel like I was the most important person in his life and I did the same for him. We loved finding ways to help each other and do special things for each other. He always made every birthday and holiday so special and thought about what he could do to make it the best one ever because he would intently listen and remember things I said I’d like or like to do throughout the year. He supported me in front of others 100% of the time and always had positive things to say about me and others. He never spoke poorly of anyone. He was happiest when he was helping others in need and all these things made me fall deeply in love with this wonderful man.

    1. I’m so sorry for your loss, Becky, but rest assured that your husband’s example surely didn’t go unnoticed. Our actions speak louder than our words. Some lessons take a little while to learn but I’m sure that in time, these lessons will live on in the young men who benefitted from his presence. Big hugs!

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