Episodes

Gender norms still (and unnecessarily!) limit boys, says journalist Lisa Selin Davis, author of Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to be Different. Which may not be an accident, since gender norms (as we know them today) were essentially created to ensure that male children grew into straight, non-homosexual men. "The way we conceive of boys' stuff and girls' stuff in this country is really only about 100 years old," she says. "It's important for us to understand that ...

Nefertiti Austin’s son was 6 yrs old when she realized he’d “have to learn that his race and gender could get him killed," she writes in Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America. That's not a lesson white boys have to learn, and that's one consequence of living in a country where motherhood is so white. As Nefertiti points out in her 2019 book, the default “parent” in American culture is a married white person with white children. Her 15 year old son is now 5'10 ...

Sports and masculinity have long been intertwined. - For a long time, boys and men were the only ones who were allowed to play sports. Athletic fields and locker rooms were seen as places where boys became men. - We’ve seen where that can lead.

Yes, it's possible to have a kid and a life. - A life beyond babies, boys, and ballgames. A life that includes your hopes, dreams, and passions. - It's normal (and healthy) for your career, marriage, and friendships to shift and evolve when you becom...

Which ON BOYS episodes were the Best of 2021? - Photo by Olya Kobruseva from Pexels - The answers may surprise you! - 5. Highly Sensitive Boys with William Allen By age 5, William Allen understood very clearly that he was different.

ON BOYS listeners really want to know how to keep boys safe online. - Which makes sense, given that the internet is a portal to all kinds of free and easily accessible porn -- as well as conspiracy theories, disinformation, and peer pressure. -

How do we raise next gen men -- men who can thrive in the 21st century? - "When you're on a playground, you can't yell, 'Hey, Tommy, cut that hegemonic masculinity out!'" says Jake Stika, co-founder of Next Gen Men,

Dr. Jon Lasser believes we all have a role to play in expanding boys' opportunities. - The Man Box and Boy Code still limit and shape boys' behavior. And although there are plenty of books and TV shows that encourage girls to step past gendered bounda...

Jack Kammer says boys are affected by sexism too. - Boys and girls who engage in the same exact behavior may be treated very differently. And yet, when we fail to acknowledge that fact, we contribute to the gaslighting of our boys.

Did you know that boys may be more susceptible to respiratory viruses than girls? - Society tells us that boys are strong and tough, but the truth is that males are biologically fragile -- from before birth all the way through to death.

Video game addiction - Google that term and you'll get 95 million results -- and the first one is for an addiction treatment center. - But is video game addiction really "a thing?" More importantly -- what can parents do if they think their kid's gam...

Before he started The Tyler Merritt Project or created his viral video, Before You Call the Cops, Tyler Merritt was a confused, young black boy trying to make sense of all the expectations and stereotypes swirling around him. "I wish somebody had really sat down with me as a young person and simply said, 'Hey, Tyler, you're going to make a lot of mistakes. A lot of mistakes. And those mistakes are going to go on for a very long time. But listen young man: do not let those mistakes ruin you; do ...

Is wilderness therapy a good choice for troubled boys? - For boys who are self-harming, self-medicating with alcohol or drugs, or in trouble with the law? Is wilderness therapy the solution for families who have tried everything and are desperate to ...

Need some practical parenting strategies to help you manage hitting, backtalk and disobedience? - Amy Williams has solutions. Amy is a school counselor who also helps overwhelmed and stuck parents. And let's be real: we all feel overwhelmed, stuck,

Hunt, Gather, Parent, by Michaeleen Doucleff, shares ancient wisdom that's still relevant today: the key to raising healthy, happy, helpful humans is to engage them in work of the family and community. That's a truth we seem to have forgotten in our collective desire to optimize our kids. Our intentions are good, but our actions -- signing our kids up for multiple extracurricular activities; spending our weekends shuffling them around to tournaments and birthday parties -- may actually be harmi...

Teaching boys to drive can be exciting, - scary. - and intimidating. - Boys are more likely than girls to speed, drink while driving, and take chances when they have passengers in the car. - "I think he thought driving was going to be super int...

Let legendary parenting author Steve Biddulph teach you how to be a fully human parent. - His book, Fully Human: A New Way of Using Your Mind, came out a few months ago and Janet talked to him about it then. Later this month,

Parenting boys thru divorce is...challenging. Hard. Not fun. And also, important and worthy of your best effort. Unfortunately, most people going through divorce are not exactly in peak condition. Divorce and separation is all kinds of stressful, and it's near-impossible to be your best self when so much of your time and energy is focused on survival and figuring out what the &#*(^ happened to your relationship. Start by dialing back some the guilt. Reports that divorce is uniformly terrible f...

Is healthy sports parenting possible? At elite levels of competition? - If you watched the 2020 summer Olympics (held summer 2021), you know that the stress & strain of elite competition was a big focus this year. Simone Biles had the “twisties.

Boy moms make the most effective boy advocates. - That's a lesson Gemma Gaudette learned early on. Gaudette, the host of Idaho Matters on Boise State Public Radio and the mom of 2 sons, ages 13 and 9, didn’t really understand the challenges boys face...

Like it or not, your son will probably become sexually active at some point. - Do you... - a) buy him condoms? - b) let his romantic interest stay over? - c) say ABSOLUTELY NOT to sleep over requests? - d) freak out? - Or....???? -

Is your son musical? - Yes, he is -- even if hates singing, doesn't play an instrument, and acts up in music class. Human beings are inherently musical creatures, according to Joan Koenig, author of The Musical Child: Using the Power of Music to Rais...

If you attended Seth Perler's TEFOS summit -- The Executive Function Online Summit -- and want more info, you're in the right place. (And if you missed the summit, no worries! You can still access recordings, and you'll get a lot from this podcast episode as well.) We first talked to Seth Perler about executive function in April 2021, and what he said was so foundational, so important for parents of boys with ADHD and other executive function challenges that we've decided to share it again. Som...

Amy Lang is our go-to sex ed expert. - She's a mom of a son and she's not afraid to talk frankly about sex, pornography, relationships and consent. - Our January 2021 conversation with Amy -- all about how keep boys safe online -- was so enlighte...