How To Talk To Boys So They Grow Into Better Men
How To Talk To Boys So They Grow Into Better Men
Many boys are struggling right now. Here are some concrete ideas for helping them become caring, emotionally engaged men.
Hello! As you may know, I’m currently writing a book called TALK TO YOUR BOYS with . It seems like a LOT of people are concerned about boys and are really looking for quality resources and advice.
That was certainly true at the SHAPE America convention, where more than 100 people showed up for my presentation on boys and healthy masculinity - at 8 a.m.!
I’m thrilled that I’ve been able to talk about boys in some big media outlets recently - I’m sharing a couple highlights below, along with several other excellent resources for learning more about this issue.
Boys and men benefit SO MUCH from having vulnerable, open, curious conversations about manhood and masculinity. If you have boys in your life, please make space and time for these talks. — Christopher
ParentData: Why Adolescent Boys Are Struggling
The popularity of Andrew Tate shows us that boys are looking for examples of how to be a man in the world. Tate knows how to use boys’ insecurities to build an audience. If we don’t proactively provide guidance and a place for boys to talk about masculinity, power, and success, they may latch onto the ideas of people like Tate, or look for advice in the posts of radical online extremists.
It can be scary to think about all the issues boys are struggling with today, but there are some powerful things parents and schools can do to intervene. READ MORE
Vox.com: How To Talk To Boys So They Grow Into Better Men
Men are not okay. They’re less likely to graduate high school and go to college than women, have dwindling circles of friends, and are sitting out of the labor market at startling rates. Compared with women, they’re two to three times likelier to die of drug overdoses and nearly four times likelier to die by suicide. The disadvantages are particularly marked for working-class men and men of color.
The problem begins in boyhood — and so should the solution, says award-winning health educator Christopher Pepper. In his view, a future where men are healthier and happier starts with better conversations with boys. READ MORE
Next Gen Men: How Boys Become Men
“Real growth, the kind of growth that changes you from a boy to a man, doesn’t happen in isolation from others—it happens primarily through and within our relationships with those who know us best. The question, then, is less about when you become a man, but with whom you become a man.”
In this upcoming webinar for parents, A New Journey: How Rites of Passage Can Nurture Positive Masculinity Within Boys, Next Gen Men will leverage its research and on-the-ground experience to explore the deep impact of integrating rites of passage with principles of positive masculinity, and how parents of masculine-identifying youth can offer them transformative experiences on their journey towards manhood, plus an opportunity for Q&A.
Thursday, March 28. 4:30-6 p.m. Pacific Time (7:30-9 p.m. Eastern)
FREE - Register here
The #BoysWillBeBoys Expert Interview Series
The Representation Project is hosting a weekly expert interview series featuring the nation’s leading experts on healthy masculinity. You can register in advance to join the sessions live. Miss one? You can replay them on YouTube here.
![Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro [Paperback]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08d00e26-8705-432a-844d-c58d5e6f008c_560x800.png "Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro [Paperback]")
Recently, I was fortunate to meet Dr. Shelly Flais, a pediatrician and mother of four who just wrote Nurturing Boys To Be Better Men. The goal of the book is “give parents the tools they need to start the lifelong process of raising their boys into men who are mentally healthy, empathetic, and committed to gender equality.”
Flais makes the case that the work of being role models for gender equality starts in the home, and emphasizes the benefits of gender equality for everyone.
Some related coverage in Teen Health Today you might have missed…
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Have you read about the issues with young men believing that they must be women due to the stereotypes around being the “wrong” kind of man? My son developed Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria at age 16 and rejected the idea that he was male. He grew up with extremely open minded parents who taught him that he could be who he wanted to be and love who he wanted to love. This was not enough when it came to the social scene at a rough San Francisco school where his only outlet for being a sensitive boy was the SAGA Club. High school was an overwhelming transition and then COVID hit. He spent a year on line being informed that if he didn’t fit in and hated his pubescent body and sexuality, then he must be trans. He was groomed by both well meaning people and several pedophilic men on line. He came out of it through exploratory therapy and two liberal minded parents who explained all the ways he would grow up and come to love himself and that he was too young to make such life altering decisions that would affect his sexuality, sexual function, and future relationships. As a high school teacher in the SF Bay Area, I have seen too many of us quickly affirming trans ideation in young people rather than helping them understand that there is no “right” way to be male or female. Here is a new website to help parents and counselors navigate the issues affecting boys who believe that they were “born in the wrong body”. https://www.rogdboys.org