Be the Son’s Friend, not his Father

A son should be loved for five years, then treated harshly for ten years, but when he turns sixteen should be treated with friendship.

How should the behavior of a wise father be according to the age of the son? For five years from the birth of a son, an innocent son is completely dependent on his parents. A father should nurture his son till he is five years old with care and love, but the age from five to fifteen years is the foundation of any person’s life. If the foundation is left raw, the building built on top of it collapses anytime. This is why every father should act strictly to instill culture and knowledge in his son at this stage of age. A wise father takes care of his son at that stage of his age with care and discipline.

A father should first resort to understanding and then to punishment to give his son a sense of good and bad and right and wrong. It is said that, ‘Sole san, if you come, if you come, then Rameram.’ It is the father’s responsibility to inculcate understanding in the son for sixteen years.

In the sixteenth year the son becomes mature. Then it is difficult to control it. If forced with it, father-son relationship may get strained. This is why the father should treat him like a friend. Like a true friend, a father should give true guidance to his son.