Raising Empowered Boys

With women empowerment comes the danger of raising boys who can't deal with empowered women. So how do you rise to the challenge of raising healthy, well balanced boys?

- Chris Hart

For very good reasons, girls have received lots of attention in recent years. Everywhere there are initiatives aimed at empowering girls and they are changing society. For the good of all citizens of course, but where are boysin all this?

Boys no longer have role models, for various reasons including absent fathers and because their generation is experiencing a society that is vastly different from that of their parents. And no one is helping them prepare for this new world.

The result is a pattern that starts in kindergarten. As schools become more girl friendly, the girls excel, while the boys are more likely to end up in remedial classes, abuse substances, drop out of school or be involved in violence.

In the adult world, the change from traditional patterns of employment to casual, part-time and contract based jobs, is favouring young women and an increasing number of boys are not able to start adult life successfully. This is because while teachers and parents start preparing a girl for adult life early in her school career, somehow, it is assumed that a boy does not need help transiting into manhood.

It is almost as if we have forgotten how to raise boys. We have to understand that because boys are different from girls and face different challenges when they grow up, they need to be brought up differently. Today’s boys need to be prepared for a highly competitive world and taught the social skills they will need in a world full of empowered women.

So how can you make sure that your boys grow up to be good men?

Start by recognising that the differences between boys and girls are real, and do not try to suppress them. Girls will sit quietly. They reach milestones earlier and love reading. Boys are more energetic, aggressive, easily distracted, and really do have trouble sitting still. So they usually get into trouble in school.