Uncles

My sons are blessed with an abundance of uncles — 4 on my side of the family, plus another 2 on hubby’s side.

Years ago, boys were raised in the company of men. As author Michael Gurian writes in The Minds of Boys, “it is worth remembering that throughout human history, our male ancestors had two or more men at their disposal during their upbringing, especially at and after puberty — the father and the master-tutor were the minimum. These men formed an inner circle of male care around the boy. There were also five to ten other significant males available throughout the boy’s adoloscence, forming an outer circle of male care.”

My boys’ “outer circle” has taught them:

  • Investing and the stock market
  • Star Wars
  • Poker

They’ve also taught them, through example, to follow your dreams and do what you love.

Of course, they also taught my sons to say, “I do what I want!” and once convinced my oldest son he could fly.

The O Pine sounds an awful lot like my brothers. Check out what he has to say about uncle-ing here.

Then tell me: How have your boys benefited from having uncles?

The Building Boys Bulletin

The Building Boys Bulletin Newsletter gives you the facts, encouragement, and inspiration you need to help boys thrive. Written by Jennifer L.W. Fink, mom of four sons and author of Building Boys: Raising Great Guys in a World That Misunderstands Males, Building Boys Bulletin includes:

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“I learned a lot about helping boys thrive over the past 20+ years — most of it the hard way! I’m eager to share what I’ve learned to make your path a little easier.”   – Jennifer

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6 Responses

  1. Our son has only had limited contact with his uncles. Except for a 2 year period when he was very young, we’ve never lived very close to them (and there’s only 2). We’ve been very fortunate to have other men in his life for him to be around and glean things from, including a young man that works with my husband, and who our son calls his older brother.

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