When it comes to raising sons, mothers have heard the same advice for generations: be careful not to keep him “too close.” A mother who fosters a strong emotional connection with her son will stop him from developing into a powerful, self-reliant adult. She is on course to produce a “mama’s boy” who is a wimp, dependent, and maladjusted by refusing to sever those apron strings. The only issue with this hypothesis is that it is untrue. In fact, urging boys to “man up” and pressuring them to separate from their mothers too soon might be harmful to the males. A strong mother-son relationship has additional advantages that extend from a man’s youngest years into his adult years. Boys who do not form strong bonds with their moms as babies subsequently experience behavioural issues. According to studies, males who form a weak link with their moms while they are young act considerably more hostilely, destructively, and aggressively as adults. Boys who had a close relationship with their mothers as children were less likely to become troublemakers as adults. Boys who have a good relationship with their mothers do better in school. Mothers frequently foster emotional intelligence in their boys by teaching them to understand and communicate their own emotions as well as others’ emotions.
