He tells me everything

As the son grows older, and if mother has a hard time maintaining a good relationship with her son through parental discipline, she may attempt to compensate for it through developing an emotional closeness with him. ‘I know he can be a real pill, but we have had some really good talks. I think he is really opening up to me.’ What may actually be happening is the son is learning how to manipulate his mother. In other words, if he tells her how his day at school went and talks with her just a little bit, a great deal of disobedience and disrespect will be overlooked.

Emotional closeness or intimacy which ignores sin is not a sign of better things to come; it is an unmarked package ticking ominously.

(Ch 10 - Future Men)

I think this is a challenge for Dads. We need to back up our wives, to love them and and to work at discipline so that our sons respect Mum and obey her, gladly, first time (knowing as we do first hand the way that guys sin or are tempted to sin in this way from our own sin as young men towards our mums!).

But more than that, it is a huge challenge for single mums who don't have that back up.

Do you know of anything written (book or blog) or any mp3 resouce that is helpful on this one?