Episodes

This is a really confusing time to be a boy in the United States. - That's one of (the many!) insights Ryan Wexelblatt -- aka ADHD Dude -- gained while working with 14 and 15 year old boys during his ADHD Dude Summer Camp this year.

How do we help boys listen & learn? - Image by Andrew Steele via Flickr - In month whatever of the pandemic, we're all grappling with a lot of tough questions, including what to do about school and injustice and inequality.

We all want to raise good men. - But how? It's one thing to WANT To raise good men, and another to figure out what that means on a daily basis. Exactly HOW do we raise good men? - Aaron Gouveia is the author of Raising Boys to be Good Men: A Parent's...

Sassy Harvey believes "my boy can." - The mother of a young son who loves dance, Barbie and princesses. Sassy started a social movement after her then 4-year-old son quit dance because he'd been told that only girls and gay people dance. Now,

Can a book club help boys enjoy reading? - Yes, says Erin O'Donnell, a mom of two boys and author of How to Start a Kids Book Club. She and a bunch of other moms started a mother/son book club when their sons were in 3rd grade,

Back to School 2020 will go down in the annals of history. - Image via PixaBay - The United States (and world) is still wrestling with the coronavirus pandemic. Schools are slated to "open" -- whether virtually or literally or some combination thereo...

Parenting teenage boys is HARD. - Their brains aren't yet fully mature yet they're bigger and stronger than most parents. They have more energy than their parents -- and when they are bound and determined to do what they want to do (regardless of wha...

Almost 1/3 of boys are trying to gain weight or bulk up. - For years, body image concerns were thought to be a female issue. But superhero costumes for toddler boys now come equipped with built-in muscles,

Supporting boys' interests is essential, especially in a world that so often tells them their interests are unwelcome. Wanna wrestle? Don't; you might hurt someone. Wanna dance? Don't; that's for girls. Restrained by stereotypes, gender expectations and parents and teachers who prefer boys who sit down and take direction without comment or complaint, too may boys give up their interests. They disengage from school and life and disappear into their rooms and online spaces. It's easier, for many...

He couldn’t sleep. Mike’s face stung from the gash and the stitches and a pulsing ache radiated from the back of his skull. His knuckles were shredded, and his arm throbbed under the thick bandages. Whether he closed or opened his eyes -- even his EYES hurt -- the images were there. Like grainy documentary footage. Some of it in motion, some of it still... That’s the start of chapter 2 of Wilderness Therapy, a new book by Paul Cumbo,a long-time teacher and coach. We don’t ordinarily talk about ...

Summer slide (noun): The loss of academic skills and knowledge over the course of summer vacation - Photo by bcrumpler via Flicker - Parents (& educators) have long worried about the things kids "forget" over the summer. This year,

Roughhousing can teach boys about healthy touch. - Photo by SnarkleMotion via Flickr - Society teaches boys that there are two kinds of "acceptable" touch for males: sex, and aggression. No wonder so many boys and men turn to sex and aggression to me...

Dads are so important! - We can't talk about raising boys without also talking about the men who help create and parent them. Dad were boys long before they were fathers, and they understand boyhood and the path to manhood in a way we never will. So,

At least 1 in 5 people are differently wired, says Debbie Reber, founder of TiLT Parenting. - Differently wired kids are neurologically atypical. They perceive the world differently than their peers and express themselves differently as well.

Black boys matter. - Such a simple statement. And yet... - George Floyd is dead. His name joins the long list of others (Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, etc., etc., etc...) whose lives have been cut short by racism,

Photo by Lee Carson via Flickr - 1 in 5 boys experience sexual abuse before their 18th birthday. - More than one-quarter of male victims of a completed rape (27.8%) experienced their first rape when they were 10 years of age or younger. -

Chores, Victoria Prooday says, are the most efficient way to build our boys' emotional muscle. - Prooday, a psychotherapist, occupational therapist and speaker, is convinced that self-regulation is the key to success -- and science backs up her assert...

There are 10 million single moms in the United States. Many are raising boys. - And despite the naysayers, many are doing a great job! - Is single parenting difficult, especially during a pandemic? Absolutely.

Is mom in control at your house? - We don't mean "in control" in the dictator sense, or in the mom-is-storming-around-the-house-yelling-at-everyone way. We don't even mean "in control" to mean "your house is neat and orderly and your children do exac...

A generation ago, few people thought much about understanding gender. - Then, gender seemed simple and straightforward: boy or girl, male or female. - Things are different today. Merriam-Webster declared they the 2019 word of the year,

The phrase "adult children" is an oxymoron: the words adult and children clearly describe very different things, and it's impossible to be an adult and a child at the same time. Except it's not. Most of us are adult children; Jen is 47 and a bona fide adult, but she's also still the child of Al & Pat Wondra. She's also the parent of at least one adult child, a 22 year old who's been living independently for 4 years. Of course, the parent/child relationship changes as children grow into adults ...

Photo by Nik Anderson via Flickr - COVID-19 (the disease caused by the novel coronavirus) has changed everything. - Our daily lives now look nothing like we imagined at the beginning of the year. We're hunkered down in our homes,

Wouldn't it be great if boys came with a magic decoder ring to help you decode their mysteries and moods? Dr. Cara Natterson's book, Decoding Boys: New Science Behind the Subtle Art of Raising Sons, is the next best thing. If you have boys, you'll want to add this one to your bookshelf (or check it out from your library) right now -- and you'll definitely want to read it before your son hits puberty. Which may come a lot sooner than you expected. According to Dr. Natterson -- a pediatrician, m...

Managing emotions -- our boys, & our own -- is challenging in the best of times. - This, most definitely is not the best of times. We're cooped up in our houses with kids who miss their friends and activities.