Have you talked to your boys about this yet
All I have raised are boys. My husband came to the marriage with two boys. I came to the marriage with one boy. We have three boys together and we are adopting two boys. We currently have six boys at home. (Two are grown and out of the house.)
I was made to be a boy mama.
But let me tell you this…. If you’re a boy mama and you have not reached the adolescent or tween age yet there is something you absolutely must be ready for.
Hear me on this one.
It happens super fast.
It will catch you off guard.
You will feel like you’re a stranger in your own home one day.
Why?
Because they go to bed boys and they wake up men.
Yep.
Just. Like. That.
I am not even exaggerating a little.
I remember when Anthony, now 16, had his 12th birthday party at the skating rink. He was still this boy. He was still in this in between phase. I looked at him across the rink talking to a friend and he was still a boy.
And then he literally went to bed one night soon after that birthday party and BOOM…. he was shaving and barreling out of his room like a hairy man child.
And now, I look at Nick and Luke who just turned 11 in February. I see them changing. I can see faint hair growing above their upper lip. Then there are these testosterone-driven moments where I see little men stuck in a boys bodies trying hard to make sense of things.
We’ve reached that phase where I have to remind them to use soap when they take a shower because DUDE…. trust me here!! You smell.
And it’s hard. Even after raising all of these boys I doubt the right way to address things and bring up the topic of puberty and the changes that will come in the near future.
Let’s face it, they go from smelling like sweet little puppies to wet smelly dogs and it happens so fast! The phase after that is full on BO.
And even though I know my twins, who were just babies in my arms a few years ago, will go to bed boys and wake up men, I struggle with that reality that time just will not stand still.
And sweet Matthew who is only 8 is fast on their heels and there is no hanging on to his childhood forever. Puberty happens and our sweet little innocent babes will soon enough be hairy man-children as well.
Between 10 and 12 is really a great time to start talking to these boys about manhood and what is to come. And let’s face it, even though our boys do not care that their hair smells stinky and their armpits are fuming…. others do not want to smell that. I tend to use humor and just be as honest as possible with my boys when it comes to topics like puberty.
I took a trip towards the end of summer to LA and met with the spokesperson for Old Spice. I’m sure you’ve seen him on commercials. I also had some time to chat with one of their sweat scientists. Yes, they care this much about sweat and boys and men.
I learned a ton about talking with our boys about puberty and the changes to come. I love the tips she shared in my one on one time with her!
I love that Old Spice keeps it real. They want to “smellcome” boys to manhood. They want boys to understand we all sweat and we all get a little stinky. Isaiah Mustafa (former NFL’er and Old Spice spokesperson) had some great tips for us , too! Here is what happened when Molly from Digital Mom Blog and I sat down to chat with him. (And can I add Isaiah’s mom is the sweetest lady ever?! She really touched my heart.)
Here is an awesome intro video so that you can get a feel for the tone:
And then celebrate with with Swagger Old Spice. These are all of our favorites long before I went to LA to meet with these guys. We are huge OS fans!
And mama’s, just know I am here to be a listening ear when your boy wakes up a man… I’ve been there.
This post is sponsored by Old Spice but we loved their products LONG before they paid me.
Boys sure do grow up fast. I have a son, who is now 24 years old, and it just seems all of a sudden, he was shaving and even trimming his facial hair a certain way! It’s great to see Old Spice offering videos, to help prepare and talk to not only boys, but to also give us parents, something to go on, when it comes to that time.
I am the proud mom of a six year old boy (two daughter, in their twenties now before him) and I can’t begin to grasp him getting to man up on me! I know they grow so fast, so this article literally hit home for me! I always loved the smell of Old Spice, I have to check out these videos to prep for the talk! Boys are nothing like raising girls! I need all the help I can get!
WE have started some of the talks with our 7 year old but nothing too deep if you know what i mean! ha!! But we are a pretty open family so I feel liek the dialogue will just be ongoing as our kids grow older. I love the Old Spice Brand…especially the funny commercials!
Six boys??? I’d hate to see your grocery bill… lol! I have a teenage stepson who lives with us part-time and he eats us out of house and home when he’s here. I’m more of an auntie than a mum, so I get to skip the awkward parts of parenting. I think you’re doing a wonderful job with your boys 🙂
Oh my. My boys to man! I have two girls and I’m scared that we’ll just wake up one day and they are big girls already. I can’t handle it. I want them to stay babies. My youngest is 4 and she still wears a onesie. We let her coz it’s cute. We think we still have a baby. Haha. Please don’t grow up too fast kids!
You could officially say, “you’re the queen of your house.” Yes, they do grow up so fast. One minute you’re changing diapers and before you know it, they’re already too grown to be seen in public with you. I feel like I would need some Xanax with six boys though! lol! You’re super mom!
I can only imagine how this seems to happen over night. I’m not a mama, but as a auntie of 4 nephews I see it happening. I remember once I was talking to my now 19 year old nephew and his voice dipped. I was like, “WHHATTT, is happening?!” If you’re becoming a man, I’m becoming too old. It’s crazy how they just grow up. Only one left that’s not quite a man yet. I still miss when he was a baby.
I have two boys. One of my boys, now age 20, obviously went through all of this. It was hard for this momma. I don’t know how you manage six boys, but I’m also certain you know how quite blessed you are. I just have to go through it with my youngest in about 7-8 years.
YOU HAVE what my husband would consider A DREAM COME TRUE! Whenever my husband and I decide to have kids together, he wants boys – ALL BOYS! ALL OF THEM! I am okay with that though because I remember what I was like when I was a young girl, and it wasn’t that much fun – ha! I feel so badly for my mother. Thank you for this advice though – it will make me really relish every day (good or bad) I have with my son(s) in the future! I currently relish every day with my husband because I adore that man so much.
That’s cool that you seem to have such a great perspective on growing and in between phase from boys to men. They go through a lot of things as well and having a mother who can talk to them about it is important, even if it embarrasses them a little. I know that I am at that in-between phase with my daughter from girl to womanhood. And there are things to talk to her about as well.
My oldest son outgrow me, and all his shirts, in one week. Never had that ever happen, all their childhood. With shirt sizes being so varying, there was always SOME that fit, but he literaly grew out of things we had just gotten him….I think it was like 4 inches….IN ONE WEEK.
So I absolutely know what you mean.