Be a Better “Boy Parent”
20+ years into parenting boys, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on how to be an effective “boy parent.” I did not feel that way nearly 20 years ago, when I was trying to figure out why my perfectly content little boys would randomly start running and jumping off the couch. And […]
Yes, Boys Are Struggling!
Author Peggy Orenstein has a new book out this week, Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent and Navigating the New Masculinity. (Spoiler alert: we’ll be interviewing Orenstein on ON BOYS podcast later this month.) Orenstein’s been making the media rounds and as glad as I am that boys are getting national attention, […]
Top Posts of 2019
2019: Conversations about boys move to center stage. CBSN created a documentary about raising boys. The American Psychological Association released recommendations for working with boys and men, igniting a debate about “traditional masculinity.” At home, parents of boys continued to grapple with screen time and video games. In schools, boys were still disproportionately represented at […]
In Defense of Single Moms Raising Boys
Many people are horrified at the thought of single moms raising boys. In fact, some take it further and blame single moms for boys’ violent acts and declining academic achievement. Suzanne Venker, author of The War on Men, recently wrote: At home, boys of single mothers are largely responsible for themselves, which is why so […]
Why I’m Building Boys
I’m building boys because I was blessed with four of them. My advocacy on behalf of boys — heck, most of my career, at this point — grew out of the simple fact that I am a mother of four boys. Being a mom of boys opened my eyes to things I’d never even considered […]
Moms Need Mentors Too
Hospitals and birth centers don’t send new moms home with mentors, but maybe they should. According to the dictionary, a mentor is “an experienced and trusted advisor.” Wouldn’t that come in handy while parenting? I’ve been thinking about mentors ever since I attended a short talk entitled Female Heroes Need Better Mentors at Podcast Movement […]
Yes, Boys Can Dance
It’s 2019. I can’t believe I have to say this, but here it goes: BOYS CAN DANCE. One day after releasing a podcast episode with the creator of #MyBoyCan, a international movement founded by Sassy Harvey after her 4-year-old son was told he must be either “gay” or “a girl” because he attended dance class, […]
Enjoying Summer with Boys
Five years ago, my then-eight-year-old son pulled himself around the bases on his belly. It was the postscript to a day of Independence Day celebrations, and his spontaneous endeavor taught me a lot about encouraging independence — and a lot about how well-meaning adults can inadvertently interfere with boys’ development. This year’s 4th of July […]
The Everyday Challenges of Raising Boys
The hardest thing about raising boys, in my opinion, is dealing with the myriad challenges that present themselves every. single. day. I’ve been parenting boys for more than two decades now and there’s not a day that goes by that I’m not presented with some situation that I don’t quite know how to handle. My […]
Reasons Why Your Son Might Be Behaving Badly At School
(flickr) It’s the moment every parent dreads. The phone rings or a letter drops into the mailbox, and it’s news from the school that their child is behaving badly at school. In less extreme cases, the parent might be notified of their child’s upcoming detention, and they might be asked to meet with the class […]