I am the proud father and step-father of two teenage girls ages 14 and 13.  I consider myself to be a pretty “hands on” father with both of them as far as knowing friends names, guys they think are cute and anything else that has an impact on their pre teen life.  My daughter lives with her mother so I don’t have the opportunity to screen every person she comes in contact with however my step-daughter is not so lucky.

Since she lives within the walls of my house, I have the ability to meet every friend of hers that she hangs out with, especially the boys.  I have noticed that these teenage boys are no longer as respectful to their friend’s parents as I used to be when I was their age.  When I was in my early teens there wasn’t an adult I didn’t meet that did not receive a handshake and a, “Nice to meet you Mr. or Mrs. ______, my name is Eric.”

I started thinking about his a few days ago when two boys, who came over to sit outside with my step daughter and talk.  When the doorbell rang I opened the door and was shocked at what I saw.  Neither of the boys was standing on the porch waiting to greet me when I opened the door.  One of them was sitting on a bike with his hat on sideways and a sleeveless shirt that read, “Member of the F.B.I. – Female Body Inspectors,” and the other stood on the sidewalk awkwardly looking around.  The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “Did you honestly come here to talk to my daughter wearing a shirt that says Female Body Inspector on it?”  To which he replied, “Yes”.  The second part of this encounter that I was not thrilled with was the fact that neither boy introduced themselves or approached me for a handshake until I asked them who they were.

I fear that because of their reliance on text messages, emails, chat rooms and social networking sites that our children are no longer developing the proper tools for communication they need when they are face to face with someone.  This is a life skill that is just as important for them to master when they are in the business world as it is in their personal life.  An introductory handshake shows the other person that you have respect for them and can often set the tone for the meeting.   We as fathers need to make sure that we instill these values in our sons at a very early age.  Introductions and handshakes should be as familiar to them as the names of all the players on their favorite teams or actors in their favorite movies.

Author: Eric Rush

Eric Rush is a teen dad turned superdad. A 27 year old dad and stepdad, Eric first became a father when he was just 14 years old. Since then, a lot has changed and Eric is now happily married and expecting his second child. In addition to working full-time as an IT professional, Eric goes to school, plays with the kids and drives a mini-van. He hopes to share his passion for family and his unique experiences to encourage other young dads. Along with my blog site please visit me at: ---My weekly podcast about general fatherhood--- ---My facebook fan page---

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