Wishes for a Mother's Heart

I've only read 2/3 of this book. However I want to jot down this very important note for myself. Barbara Lazaroff - one of Wishes for a Mother's Heart author, she has 2 sons. I guess this is useful to anyone who do not experience growing up with an older or little brother at home. This book comes in small short stories, however short stories could teach me something that I never know in life. 

Barbara had a couple visiting her who had twin 5 year old - a boy and a girl. The little boy fell and hurt himself, but not too badly. He ran to his father, who picked him up and held him, and he whispered to him, "go ahead and cry, let it out." I loved seeing the sensitivity shared between father and son, when i had expected to hear him say, "you're okay," which i would have thought was the appropriate response before I heard the more sensitive one given.

It's easy to get a 5 year old who has been raised to express his emotions to communicate his feelings, but by the time our boys are young men, a shield goes up for many, making it hard to reach them.These bottled-up feelings usually have a tendency to manifest themselves in ugly ways, which is no good for anyone. Although our sons will act as if they do not want to talk to us, which is probably true, it is very important that we express our love to them. They must understand that we are the standing still and available at any given moment if they need us. when they pretend their hearts are not hurting, we must speak of a hurting heart and validate the emotion that we know they are supressing. They will tell us to go away and shut the doors, but they will hear us. When we are fortunate enough to get them to open up to us, we must be very careful with the words we choose, for the shield is quick to go back up. 

Boys are so wonderful and loving, and when raised with sensitivity, grow to be fabulous husbands and fathers themselves. Love them and talk to them, for shields of armor may provide refuge, but they are not soundproof. - Taken from Wishes for a Mother's Heart