Can the K'Bro app help boys develop emotional resiliency? Yes, says K'Bro founder Patrina Mack, a mother of a son who was inspired by her son's school-inflicted emotional challenges. Importantly, she says, K'Bro is a boy-friendly, science-based support system that kids can use independently to cope with life's challenges. We've all heard the stats regarding childhood and teenage anxiety, depression, substance use and suicide. Anxiety, depression and suicide are up; substance use is down, somewha...
Apr 01, 2021•39 min
ON BOYS podcast is now officially three years old. Our episodes have been downloaded more than 465,000 times -- with almost 314,000 of those downloads coming over the past year. Join us in this very "unplugged" episode, as we acknowledge the suffering and hardship of the past year, while also noting and celebrating our progress. "The fact that any us of us are still making progress toward our overall goals -- whether professional goals or personal goals, like raising a decent human -- speaks pow...
Mar 25, 2021•40 min
In her new book To Raise a Boy, author Emma Brown writes, "This is what I want for my son as he grows up: the ability to be himself without paying a social penalty." [NOTE: This episode contains graphic descriptions of sexual violence from 16:30-21:30] That's what we want too. And we get frustrated sometimes because so many people don't even realize (or aren't willing to acknowledge) that boys and men face gender-specific issues too. We're hopeful that Brown's book will help move the needle beca...
Mar 18, 2021•44 min
The Book of Dares: 100 Way for Boys to be Kind, Bold and Brave turns "dare culture" on its head. As you likely know, boys live in a world in which status is never fixed; it’s dependent upon their ability to rise to the challenge, to dominate others and not back down from fights. That’s one reason why boys are so susceptible to challenges and dares And that’s one reason why so many boys do stupid things. Remember the movie “A Christmas Story?” Flick’s tongue got stuck to the pole because he was d...
Mar 11, 2021•32 min
Social media has been a lifeline during the pandemic. It can also destroy lives. In 2016, Ed Peisner's then-16-year-old son was viciously attacked in a social-media motivated assault -- which was filmed and uploaded to social media before his father even arrived on the scene. "It was just a typical Friday," Peisner says. "He was walking home from school and he'd called me and said he was going to stop at the local fast food restaurant and pick up some French fries." And then, life changed. "I go...
Mar 04, 2021•48 min
Heather Chauvin was dying to be a good mother. Her determination to get it *just right* was fueled by a sense of failure - and societal norms that define "good moms" as self-sacrificing. . 18 years old and single when her first child was born, Heather launched herself into parenting with gusto. She was determined to prove to herself (and others) that she was not a failure. Plus, mothering gave her a sense of purpose. Until it almost killed her. The run-down feeling she had wasn't simply due to p...
Feb 25, 2021•52 min
Humans are hard-wired to connect with other species, says Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling: How Connecting with Animals Can Transform Our Lives -- and Save Theirs and Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. The loneliness that so many of us (& our boys) are feeling right due is certainly due to pandemic-related restrictions and lockdowns, but also due to our increasing disconnection from the natural world. "The farther we get from the natural world,...
Feb 18, 2021•52 min
The "man box" doesn't leave much room for sensitive boys. Photo by Debra Brown via Flickr Society prefers rough-and-tumble boys and men -- the strong, stoic types who lift heavy loads and "buck up," rather than cry, when injured or down. So how do we help our sensitive boys navigate a world that doesn't value their sensitivity? "Sensitive boys are very, very special human beings," says Dr. Sandy Gluckman, a psychologist based in Texas. "The problem is that society, parents and teachers tend to s...
Feb 11, 2021•44 min
About 1 in 54 children has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The key word in that sentence is "spectrum." Some people with ASD are nonverbal; some are highly verbal. Some avoid physical contact; some enjoy it. As one popular saying puts it, "Once you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." Meet Sam Mitchell, a teenager with autism. Sam is created and hosts the podcast Autism Rocks and Rolls; he's also an a...
Feb 04, 2021•45 min
What's your family personality? Don't know? You're not alone. Most people don't think of families as having personalities, but when you understand your personality, your partner's personality and your kids' personalities, life gets easier. Sandra Etherington, a family personality practitioner, uses the Myers-Briggs assessment to help families improve communication and collaboration. "The assessment measures tendencies that reveal how we prefer to get information about the world and make decision...
Jan 28, 2021•46 min
One of our favorite musicals is Les Miserables, which is a story about the French revolution. It's also the story of love and transformation. What does that have to do with raising boys? Today's guest is Dr. Charles Corprew, a psychologist and host of the podcast "What's Your Revolution?" Charles is passionate about revolution -- not the bloody riots that mar cities and countries, but the opportunities we all have for personal and global transformation. "I think I've always known that revolution...
Jan 21, 2021•37 min
Do you worry about keeping your boys safe online? Thanks to the pandemic, we're all spending more time online. And unlike in years past, porn is now ubiquitous and easily accessible. Boys today don't even have to go looking for porn; it finds them. A simple, developmentally appropriate search for "sex" or "boobs" can lead to some pretty disturbing content in just a click or two, which means we have to talk to our boys about sex, likely at lot earlier than you may think. "All the research shows t...
Jan 14, 2021•42 min
We don't always like our boys. It's a bit taboo to admit that. We parents -- moms especially! -- are somehow expected to always have lovey feelings for our children. And we do love them. But sometimes, we don't want to be around them. Sometimes, we want them to go away. Parents who admit they don't like their kids, though, are often judged. That's not helpful, in our opinions. Here are ON BOYS, we're all about keeping it real, so we're going to talk about the unspeakable: What to do and how to c...
Jan 07, 2021•33 min
The phrase "best of 2020" is a bit laughable. Using the term "best" to describe a year that's included a global pandemic, remote schooling and massive disruptions to work and socialization seems almost...inappropriate. And yet, even 2020 had some bright spots. Photo by cottonbro from Pexels ON BOYS audience continued to grow. Our downloads increased by 207%. (We had nearly 281,000 downloads in 2020 vs. 88,000 in 2019). We interviewed 36 different experts, including New York Times best-selling au...
Dec 31, 2020•42 min
Dr. Cara Natterson’s book, Decoding Boys: New Science Behind the Subtle Art of Raising Sons, came out in February 2020 & made a big splash. Kirkus Reviews calls it, "A common-sensical, gently humorous exploration of male puberty’s many trials" and a New York Times article declared, "...for rational, evidence-based advice on how to talk to your son about every internal and external force he’ll experience from fourth grade through college, Cara Natterson’s zippy, bighearted 'Decoding Boys' is ...
Dec 24, 2020•45 min
Dr. Adam Cox helped Janet crack the boy code, way back when she was a first grade teacher who didn't know what to do with a class full of boys. His book, Cracking the Boy Code: How to Understand and Talk with Boys, is a seminal text that contains valuable insights for parents and teachers of boys. More than 25 years ago, Dr. Cox, a psychologist, recognized that boys in his community were looking for a place where they'd be accepted and welcomed. His boy-friendly approach developed over the years...
Dec 17, 2020•50 min
How do you help boys become resilient? It's easy enough to say that resiliency is important, and we know that the ability to bounce back in spite of obstacles is essential for success and happiness in life. But how exactly does one build resilience? Contrary to popular belief, you can't teach a child resilience, says Dr. Sandy Gluckman, a psychologist. Rather, you create a climate that allows a child to develop self-knowledge and self-confidence. Most of our boys spend a lot of times in environm...
Dec 10, 2020•40 min
Most of us know what consent means. But knowing what it MEANS doesn’t necessarily guarantee that we - or our BOYS - will actually be prepared in the moment…. Acroyoga, or partnered yoga, helped Sarah Casper understand boundaries & consent. "In this practice, instead of using an apparatus like trapeze or aerial silks, we're using our bodies. So there has to be a lot of conversation about our comfort levels, what we want to explore, where our limits are, what we maybe want to work towards and ...
Dec 03, 2020•40 min
How much do you know about boys & anxiety? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 7% of American children between ages 3-17 have a diagnosed anxiety disorder. Likely, the actual prevalence of anxiety is significantly higher, because many kids -- especially boys -- are undiagnosed. What looks like anger, opposition or teenage angst may actually be an anxiety disorder. Sometimes, anxiety is expressed physically; boys with anxiety may have headaches, sto...
Nov 26, 2020•51 min
Esports -- competitive videogaming -- is quickly becoming a very big deal. In 2017, 106.2 million people watched the League of Legend esports championship. In 2020, 99.9 million watched the Super Bowl on TV, according to Reuters. Today's parents, teachers and grandparents often find themselves annoyed at the hours boys spend in front of screens, gaming. They find it absolutely absurd that boys (and girls) watch other people play video games on You Tube and Twitch. But is watching a top video gam...
Nov 19, 2020•44 min
What words come to mind when you hear the phrase "teenage boys"? Messy? Stinky? Frustrating? Lazy? Moody? Dangerous? Teen boys can be all of those things. (So can teen girls!) But there's also a lot more beneath the surface, and if we're to effectively parent and educate our teen boys, we have to go deep. We need to remind ourselves -- and each other -- that teenage boys are complex human beings who deserve our respect and support. "Inside every teenage boy is a 4-year-old who is confused about ...
Nov 12, 2020•47 min
How’s school going? That’s a fraught question even when there’s NOT a pandemic going on. Now, it seems almost crazy to ask, given that most of us are dealing w less-than-ideal educational situations. But that doesn’t mean you have to settle for miserable. If virtual school or online learning isn't working for you, homeschool may be a good option. (And it doesn't have to be as overwhelming or time-consuming as you may think!). If in-person instruction has been canceled and your son simply doesn't...
Nov 03, 2020•40 min
Family meetings can you help adapt your parenting to fit the changing needs of your family. Photo by August de Richelieu from Pexels One of the most challenging (and demoralizing) aspects of parenting is realizing that you must constantly revise your parenting strategies. The tips, techniques and discipline strategies that worked so well when your little boy was 2 don't work at all when he's 6 -- and whatever you do when he's 6 won't work when he's 16. It can be hard for parents to adapt to thei...
Oct 29, 2020•30 min
How are you managing screen time during the pandemic? According to at least one survey, kids' time online has more than doubled since the pandemic began, and many kids now spend more than 6 hours per day online, in front of screens. And no wonder -- screens are now our portal to school, work, socialization and extended family. Which means that now is great time to examine our response to screens. Seriously. Many adults have a visceral, negative reaction to the sight of kids-on-screens, but the t...
Oct 22, 2020•38 min
Parenting teen boys is not easy. They're bigger than us. Stronger than us. They speak in a language we don't necessarily understand -- if they choose to speak at all. Their focus is turning outward, just as we parents realize how little time we have left to teach them all the things they need to know before they leave home. Miriam asks: How do you find balance between keeping the bond strong and giving them freedom? Teri also asks about letting go: How do other parents find the balance between h...
Oct 15, 2020•41 min
One of our most important jobs as parents is preparing our boys for the world of work. The work world, though, has changed dramatically over the last few decades. "There's been a shift from the competitive dog-eat-dog/rat race to a flatter, faster and fairness-focused world of work," says Ed Frauenheim, co-author of Reinventing Masculinity: The Liberating Power of Compassion and Connection. Increasingly, organizations want (and need!) employees and leaders who are flexible and eager to learn and...
Oct 08, 2020•38 min
How do you teach boys money management? 34% of American teenagers don't have bank accounts and rely predominantly on cash, according to a 2019 Junior Achievement USA survey. In fact, 1 in 5 teens have never been into a physical bank and nearly a third of teens surveyed don’t have a bank account. Like many parents, Benny Nachman initially started paying his boys' allowance in cash. But -- like many of us -- Benny doesn't often use cash and occasionally found he didn't have enough cash on hand to ...
Oct 01, 2020•42 min
Parenting outside the lines frees us up to connect with our children in an authentic way. It allows us to skip over the "must do's" and simply, instead, do the next right thing in any given moment. And if the "right thing" ultimately takes us a direction we don't want to go, it gives us the opportunity to apologize and course correct. It encourages us to trust the wisdom deep within. "I haven't yet found a parent who's really changed their parenting based on 'studies say,'" says Meghan Leahy, a ...
Sep 24, 2020•43 min
Are your boys close to their grandparents? Not physically close -- physical distance is often more a matter of necessity or practicality than choice -- but emotionally close. Studies have found that close grandparent/grandchildren relationships protect against depression in both groups, and at least one study out of England found that kids who are close to their grandparents have fewer emotional and behavioral problems and fewer difficulties with peers. Facilitating the grandparent/grandchild re...
Sep 17, 2020•46 min
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. In a Facebook post, he wrote: These guys see their female classmates (if they fit the narrow standards of beauty) who post the most sexually provocative pictures on Instagram/Snapchat get the most attention on social media. >They are living in a period of "cancel cu...
Sep 10, 2020•38 min
