Fishing: The Ultimate Combination Of Bonding And Education
Finding ways to bond with your son and to grow those family connections is essential for maintaining good communication all throughout their life. Fishing is something of a family trope, but it does have significant value in growing those bonds. What’s more, it can be an educational experience that helps your son develop all kinds […]
Coax Your Shy Boy Out Of His Shell
If your son prefers to hide in another room when you have company – such as when you’re receiving friends or when a distant family member he doesn’t know well is visiting – it’s fair to say that he may be shy. Being shy is not a bad thing, but as a parent, it’s essential […]
Fun Ways for Moms to Bond with Their Boys
Image source Building a strong relationship with your sons is of the utmost importance if you want them to grow up feeling loved and supported, if you want them to feel able to come to your with any and all of their problems, and if you want then to grow into the amazing young men […]
Boys And Breakups: A Guide For All Mothers
Girls tend to get all of the attention when it comes to dating. It’s not because they are better than boys, although some people think that to be the case. For the most part, it stems from the fact that girls have a lot to deal with, such as peer pressure and sexual abuse. The […]
Being a Non-Sporty Boy in a Sports-Driven Culture
On a spectacular spring day several years ago, my nine-year-old son, Jake, and I stepped into an elevator following a routine dentist’s appointment, headed for home. Jake, by the way, is one of those boys who doesn’t like sports, isn’t any good at them, and avoids them at every turn. Moments later, we were joined […]
Helping Boys Develop Emotional Intelligence
I was teaching primary school when I first realized that boys need extra support to develop their emotional intelligence. At the time, most of my students were from non-English speaking backgrounds. The boys would often return to class from breaks, upset and overwhelmed by emotionally charged playground experiences. Often these incidents impacted the boys’ abilities […]
Talking to Boys About Donald Trump & “Locker Room Banter”
The news is impossible to miss: Donald Trump said, on tape, that he grabs women by the pussy. That he kisses them without consent. Many others will debate and discuss what this means for American politics. What this moment means for American parents is that we all — ALL — need to have a talk […]
Encouraging Emotional Intelligence in Boys
Do you know what emotional intelligence is and why it’s important? Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and respond to emotions (yours, and others’) in healthy, productive ways. You’ve likely already noticed both high and low levels of emotional intelligence in action. Think about it: the friend who started ranting the minute a fellow […]
A Better Way to Talk to Boys About Rape Culture
Ask them, “What do you think about the words, ‘rape culture?’” Then listen. Listen to what they say and to what they express. Listen for the silences and hesitation. Listen past the defensiveness. Bite your own tongue, if you must, but instead of building a rebuttal, try to hear what’s behind your boys’ words. Paraphrase […]
Recap: Understanding How Boys Think – & What They Need
Boys and girls are different, biologically and socially. Yet despite the fact that most people know and accept that fact as, well, fact, one of the biggest mistakes we humans make is to assume that others are like us — and to assume, when we find out that they think and act differently than we […]