[JuntMonkey]

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Don't do that. Just raise him to be confident and willing to speak his opinion and be talkative.

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And how do I do that? I'm not exactly the most qualified! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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It's really easy when their young. Just make a point to include him in discussions. Look at his attentiveness to conversations, and ask his opinion constantly. I don't have kids, from friends of the family and cousins and the like, i've found that little kids can't wait to speak and are interested in everything (then immediately interested in something else [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]).

So take advantage of that before they hit the teen, independence, rebellion stage. Enroll him in activities that include other children, like sports. martial arts I think would be huge, especially at a young age, because even if they hate you for forcing them to go, once they develope skills and mature a few more years they'll most likely embrace it and thank you for starting them on the path.

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Read the book "Summerhill", which I mention whenever child-rearing comes up. It's about a "free school" in England where the children can basically do as they please. Lessons are optional, but children naturally want to learn and will usually go to lessons anyway. You don't have to force a toddler to learn to walk (they do it on their own), and you don't have to force a child to learn what you think he needs to learn. The children are on equal footing with the adults.

Children raised under this type of environment turn out supremely confident because they have no imposed fear of authority figures. This would presumably translate into picking up women.