Episodes

Kate Mangino is right: “The last thing any working parent needs is to add ‘solve gender inequality’ to their to-do list.” But if we don't think about gender inequality in the home, we might end up unintentionally perpetuating it. After all, for most of our lives, females have been assumed to be the primary and "natural" caretakers of home and family, while males have been primarily expected to earn a living. Those roles are shifting, of course, but facts are facts: women still bear the brunt of...

Highly sensitive people -- boys & parents alike -- are prone to overwhelm. - They're also likely to be misunderstood (and, perhaps, misdirected) by parents, teachers, coaches, and others. - "I was told my entire life, 'You're too damn sensitive,

Puberty happens to every body - and boys need to know how puberty affects bodies and brains. - You-ology: A Puberty Guide for EVERY Body, by Dr. Trish Hutchison, Dr. Kathryn Lowe, & Dr. Melissa Homes, addresses puberty in a holistic,

"Boy mom" Claire Zulkey is the only female in her family. (Yes, the family dogs are male too.) - She's also a self-described "evil witch" & creator of Evil Witches newsletter, a fantastic community and newsletter for people who happen to be mothers an...

Father's Day here in America was first celebrated on June 19, 1910. - It wasn’t declared an official holiday until 1972—58 years AFTER Mother's Day was made official. - Dads have long been assumed to be secondary parents, at best.

Michael Ian Black shares some important and (mostly serious) thoughts about how to be a better man with his son -- and all of us -- in his book, A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son. The question of raising good men seems all too significant as the United States (again) wrestles with the fact that nearly all mass shooters are male. But there is hope. "Boys, in general, for all of our problems -- and we have them, & they are not insignificant -- are okay," Black says, "Boys, like g...

Britt Hawthorne, a mom of 2 boys and author Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Parenting Guide, says that raising antiracist kids requires teaching them to identify unfairness. It includes incorporating an anti-bias lens when doing, well, almost anything. Britt's oldest son was about 12 years old when his homework required him to imagine he was a colonist in Jamestown or Plymouth and write a letter to relatives back home in England. The boy completed the work as assigned, but his mom took...

Sleep is as important to our teens as our toddlers. - But ensuring a teenage boy gets the sleep he needs is even more difficult than convincing a toddler to nap that day after you move him from the crib to a toddler bed.

Dads need to help boys understand and shape masculinity. - In years past, fathers were often "there, but not there," according to Craig Wilkinson, a dad of two and founder of Father a Nation, a South African nonprofit that addresses gender-based viole...

Gender bias affects boys’ experience in schools. - It’s most often unconscious and unintentional bias but it affects how our boys see themselves and how they feel about school and learning. And until we admit that fact and grapple with the gender equ...

Finding ecohappiness can decrease boys' anxiety levels and increase family harmony. - There's a strong -- and direct -- link between time in nature and mental health. Human beings require nature exposure for optimal physical and mental health.

Mathew Blades was a father and successful radio DJ before he recognized the impact of generational trauma on his life. On his boys' lives. Sure, his childhood included a lot of screaming and some spanking. And sure, his father died abruptly when Mathew was just 23 years old. Stuff happens. Mathew did what most people do: he buried his pain and pushed through. That worked, more or less. Until the back pain and shingles, stress and panic attacks. Until Mathew had to admit that he wasn't doing we...

Why are video games so important to boys? - That's the question a listener sent in response to our recent call for questions. The listener who asked that question just happens to be Jen's brother -- and another one of their brothers happens to be a vi...

Sex talks with tweens can be...awkward. - Even Amy Lang, ON BOYS' go-to sex ed guru, stumbled through her initial sex talks with her son. - "I thought I'd be great at it, but I just wasn't," she says. "I realized I'd rather talk to a 15 year old abo...

Raising boys brings up all kinds of questions! - Kristen asks: Is it normal for a 9-10 year old boy to get into physical altercations with friends at every play date? Juliann asks for help figuring out how to best support a son who is "generally...

How can we help boys develop healthy body image? - That's not a question parents of boys asked in previous generations. Girls, parents thought, were the ones at risk for body dissatisfaction, given the constant onslaught of heavily stylized (and ofte...

The Global Initiative for Boys & Men (GIBM) focuses on research and advocacy to support boys and men, according to Sean Kullman, the group's president. - GIBM has established a BAM index, a Boys and Men Well-Being Index,

When they realized that schools wouldn't change quickly enough to meet their kids' needs, members of the Black Mothers Forum opened microschools, with an eye toward ending the school to prison pipeline. Existing school leaders and educators “really did not understand how to create a safe and supportive learning environment for our Black children,” say Janelle Wood, President of The Black Mothers Forum, Inc. She recalls getting frequent calls from school (for minor issues) when her now-adult son...

Four years of ON BOYS podcast! - 214 episodes, more than 900,000 downloads, and countless deep, moving moments. We've talked about vaping, sex, boys & body image, consent, connection, and misconceptions about boys. We wrestle with gender stereotypes,

How do we raise LBGTQ allies? - We know boys are (still) subject to a lot of homophobia and transphobia. Our culture is full of messages that tell boys it's best to be straight and stereotypically masculine.

How many of these myths & misconceptions about boys have you heard? - How many do you believe? "Boys are easier than girls." "Boys are less emotional than girls." "Boys leave their families when they grow up." "With boys,

Empowering boys is one powerful way to address the boy crisis. - Some people -- often, people who don't have or work with boys -- wonder why boys need to be empowered. After all, they say, men still control most businesses and countries. -

Brain-body parenting can help you raise joyful, resilient boys, says Dr. Mona Delahooke. - Boys' behavior offers clues as to what's going on inside the child -- and deciphering what's happening internally can help us tailor our response to the unique ...

Picky eaters... - are incredibly common. Nearly all kids go through food jags. ALL humans have food preferences. Navigating all of this around the dinner table, though, can feel frustrating and overwhelming. Even for experts. -