The first 21st century issues most threatening to boys becoming emotionally and rationally healthy men are related to child abuse. A boy who experiences a hostile, unresponsive, and unpredictable world must use more effort to manage his emotions—having insecure attachment results in poor abilities to understand other people’s feelings and thus experience hardships in their social life. Raising a boy in an abusive environment, they perceive the world as socially unfriendly for the rest of their lives. This belief influences their future interpersonal behaviors and emotional responses. Children abused while young mostly develop undesired emotional reactions like fear and anxiety and show signs of aggressiveness in trying to protect themselves (Henderson, & Thompson, 2010).
Mothers play specific and distinct roles in the young boys’ development, and these roles comprise of; they form the most durable bond with the boy. The mother is always the first to know and establish a connection with a child. Immediately after birth, the mother strengthens the relationship by taking care of the boy and offering protection. The interaction during the child’s early age leaves a strong impact displayed in the boy’s future social and emotional aspects. They provide a conducive environment for proper development, control the child’s behavioral development, and teach them how to trust and be trustworthy (Dobson, 2005).
The critical roles that a father plays in a boy’s development include; increasing the child’s intellect by improving their emotional intelligence and developing their problem-solving abilities. They help boost the child’s confidence by offering emotional support. The fathers help the boy realize that they are highly valued and loved. They serve someone to be looked up to by the boy. Fathers are role models to their sons and assist in reinforcing good behaviors. Fathers provide a unique perspective to their children and teach them valuable life skills, which they apply to life (Dobson, 2005).
When parents distance themselves from their children and fail to play their roles, undesirable behaviors observed in their children’s future lives. The children develop anxiety and become stressed for lack of parental support. The children may experience hardships with their social life since they never learned how to trust or be trustworthy. Lack of role models in life may result in children developing undesirable behaviors that may spoil their lives. The children are likely to suffer oppression and abuse as they do not have anyone to protect them. The child whose parents have failed in their roles have a higher chance of getting to drug abuse and gangs (Henderson, & Thompson, 2010).