My oldest son plays lacrosse.  He was somewhat upset when I picked him up from practice the other night.  He stated that his teammate kept making an illegal move that was causing bruising and bleeding on his leg.  He said he told his teammate to cut it out but the guy kept hitting him.

So, at that point in our discussion, I said, “Okay then, you hit him back!”

Was I wrong in my advice?  I’m  not sure.  I wrestle with this concept, especially with boys.  How do you balance teaching them to turn the other cheek, tolerance, etc vs standing up for themselves, defending their beliefs, debating with confidence, etc.

Maybe I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill.  After all, we’re talking about a lax practice.  But, I tend to look at these experiences and then apply them to the real world.  Life lessons, their development into adulthood.

At this point, here’s what I believe:

You should have a large set of kahones to make it in this world. 

You should be able to defend what you believe in. 

You should be able to protect yourself.

You should be able to defend this country. 

Right??

I welcome advice on this subject, especially from you parents who’ve raised boys into men!  I may look back at this later and realize I was wrong-we’ll see…