Women raising sons in the absence of fathers were told their own emotional stability and well-being is imperative in raising boys to become well-rounded men.Almost 50 women attended a workshop hosted by the Women’s Resource Centre to equip themselves with parenting tools for success.The session included extensive discussion on what is commonly referred to as ‘Mama’s Boy Syndrome’, the process of young men becoming emotionally tied to or dependent on their mothers beyond childhood.Another topic discussed was ‘Establishing a Graduation Day for You and Your Son’ the day when mothers stop providing, housing or supporting their sons financially. The age of the child when that actually happens depends on the individual child.The topic ‘Find Your Own Man’ and pushing past the hurt of broken relationships with fathers in the best interest of the child also prompted lengthy discussions.WRC Director Elaine Williams said what was most pronounced was the fact that most of the participants want to better relations but don’t know how.“Mothers were encouraged not to give up in spite of obstacles and difficult times with the fathers of their children.“Quite often they cannot get past the pain of the break-up and engage in arguments or badmouthing the other parent in front of the child,” said Ms Williams.“Our children see and hear everything and they learn from what they see. Bad mouthing in front of the children makes it more difficult for them to adjust to the break-up themselves,” she said.“As mothers we have to remember that we are raising a man-child who will be a father one day. What you put in his head now has a lot to do with the man and father he becomes.“In the case of ‘mama’s boys’ quite often they grow up unable to have healthy relationships with women because they are really looking for a mother to baby them instead of a healthy relationship,” she added.On the topic of ‘Find Your Own Man’, she said in the absence of an adult man-woman relationship, some mothers tend to rely emotionally on their sons to fill that void.“Your young son is not your man, he is not there to validate you, he is not your date, nor is he there to make you feel good, he is your son, not your husband,” said Ms Williams.“That’s too much responsibility for a young boy who cannot relate to that kind of energy. Then he grows up feeling that for so long he becomes frustrated when he cannot get it from girlfriends,” she said.The workshop was led by Denise Carey, Programme Coordinator at the Government Residential Treatment Centre. She was said she was encouraged by the feedback generated during the discussion.She also encouraged the participants not to give up in spite of the obstacles and difficult times with the father. “We have no right to give up, our sons deserve for us to keep pushing in a safe and healthy way.“It is important to the child’s emotional well-being to make room for the father.“We will never understand what it feels like to get the last call for an emergency with the child or not to be considered to receive a school note from the child’s teacher,” she added.Ms Carey found the audience to be very supportive of each other in an environment that was energised where the participants felt safe to share openly.Another workshop geared for fathers raising daughters will be held later this month. The keynote speaker for that workshop will be Wayne Caines, CEO of Digicel Bermuda.Ms Williams who was quite pleased with the turnout for the first workshop said the challenge now will be how to get fathers to actually come.“No one has signed up so far but we are encouraged. The first set of participants left feeling heard and more empowered, more importantly they left with tools to equip themselves to meet the challenges.“The fact that mothers in single parent households is an issue that’s not going to go away makes it imperative that we deal with the issues and give parents the tools to do so.”The next workshop for fathers raising daughters will be held on September 24. Mr Caines will address topics including ‘All She Wants is Your Time’, ‘Discipline and Womanhood’, ‘A Man of your Word’.The free workshop is open to men only and fathers are encouraged to sign up early.The Women’s Resource Centre has adopted a ‘prevention’ model in providing services to the women of the community and their families since 2010. Their aim is to empower women to create strong women, strong families and a strong community.Ms Williams added: “Future workshops will directly address challenges such as self esteem and assertiveness as women, personal safety and self-defence. We will also hold open discussions on women’s sexuality, how to cope with ‘singleness’ at middle age, and women’s inhumanity towards women.”