How to Listen so Boys Will Talk
Being able to communicate/share is one thing. Having confidence that the adult recipient will handle the message properly is another. — Robert Brown I grew up in a home where communications were never a millimeter deeper than pure surface, transactional messaging. “I love you;” “How are you feeling?” “You look sad today and “What’s up?” […]
Rap Music Is Not Evil
I can’t believe it took me the better part of a week to sit down and watch this incredibly inspiring and moving video! If you haven’t yet seen the footage of these two boys performing on Britain’s Got Talent, sit down now and watch it. I promise it will be completely worth your time. Pretty […]
Why “Be a Man” Is the Worst Thing You Can Say to a Boy
“The three most destructive words that every man receives when he is a boy is ‘ Be a Man.’” – Joe Ehrmann, Coach & NFL player
What Do Boys Think?
I can talk and write about boys until the proverbial cows come home. But I will never be able to tell you exactly what boys think and feel and wonder. That’s why I’d like your sons help. I’d like to collect (and post) some short videos of boys, talking about topics and interests of concern […]
Tips on Dealing with Anger — from a 7-yr-old Boy
If you have kids, you’ve gotten angry. Felt frustrated. And quite probably yelled at your kids. (More than once.) Photo by isforinsects via Flickr If you’re an enlightened parent, the kind who is always striving to do better, who is working hard to raise kids who are kind and compassionate, you’re probably felt guilty about […]
How (Not) to Talk To Boys
Maybe I’m just hyper-sensitive to language. Or maybe I just strongly believe that little boys should have the freedom to be little boys, without hearing verbal messages that imply they’re somehow not manly enough. Last night, I attended my 6-yr-old son’s first baseball game of the season. This is the first year he’s in coach-pitch […]
“That’s So Gay” & Other Insults
Actor Jason Alexander, formerly of Seinfeld, took some heat in 2012 when he called the sport of cricket “a bit gay.” Hi comments ignited a controversy on Twitter, with some of his followers saying that they found his humor offensive. Alexander didn’t get it. At first. But neither did he mean to offend anyone, so […]
How To Tell Your Son ‘I Love You’
It’s been one of those days around here. It’s almost 7 pm, we still haven’t eaten and, as Robert Frost would say, I have miles to go before I sleep. So today, I offer you one of my all-time most popular posts, 14 Ways to Tell Your Son “I Love You” 1. Take him […]
Boys Don’t Want to Discuss Problems
Did you see the study that examined boys’ and girls’ thoughts and opinions regarding problem sharing? The first line of a related news article elicited a strong, “No duh!” response from me. Check it out: “A new University of Missouri study finds that boys feel that discussing problems is a waste of time.” As a […]
The Marinette Shooting and the Culture of Fear
The headline last night — “Armed student reportedly holding high school classroom hostage in Wisconsin” — took my breath away. I live in Wisconsin. And I still desperately want to believe that things like that don’t happen in Wisconsin. But they do. As you now know, a 15-year-old male student held about two dozen students […]