Welcome to Bringing Up Boys!
Your ultimate resource for raising the next generation of men.
I was with my mother when my OB called to tell me the sex of my baby. I wasn’t with my husband at the time, and so I handed my mother the phone, putting the pressure on her to 1) find out the sex, and 2) hold in the information until my husband and I could find out together.
My husband came home and my mother delivered the news: “Are you ready? You are having… a… BOY!”
I am not exaggerating when I say that both our responses were of complete shock. I even exclaimed, “NOOOO!” Not because I was unhappy, but because—for some reason—I was so surprised. (Yes, I understood that there was essentially a 50/50 shot of giving birth to either sex, but it somehow seemed impossible and implausible.)
My gut reaction to finding out I was going to be raising a boy showed me that I had some work cut out for me. My husband and I both grew up in families with only sisters, and I had been studying the negative effects of masculinity on boys and men for years as a doctoral candidate. Let’s just say we felt more prepared to raise a woman than a man. This feeling led me here—to creating Bringing Up Boys.
Welcome to Bringing Up Boys, where I discuss all things Positive Masculinity.
I'm excited to have you join me in the journey of how to raise boys with love, compassion, and positive masculinity! Gender stereotypes and masculinity norms are unavoidable, but they don’t have to be harmful.
I combine real-life parenting experiences, expertise in gender development and masculinity, and a commitment to dismantling toxic masculinity to raise the next generation of men.
Why now?
As a doctor in Human Development & Family Sciences with years of experience studying the harmful impacts of masculinity on men and boys, I was SO nervous when I found out I was pregnant with a boy.
I realized I only knew about the harmful effects of masculinity (and I knew a lot about those) yet didn’t feel empowered with any techniques to turn that knowledge into tangible, helpful, positive strategies for raising my son.
Bringing Up Boys was born out of my fear of being responsible for raising a good man. A couple years into the process of raising this [cute, little] man, and many years into the process of researching men and masculinity, I feel ready to share my ideas with you.
Community
I’m excited to start a community that is as passionate as I am about raising the next generation of men with positive masculinity. Bringing Up Boys draws from gentle and mindful parenting strategies and techniques and specifically aims these strategies at raising boys to be the men we want to see in the world. I’ll dive deep into topics like:
Nurturing healthy relationships
Fostering emotional intelligence
Shattering stereotypes
… and many more!
I won’t try to make stereotypes disappear; that’s just not realistic. But I do hope to create a more positive and nuanced meaning of them. I will explore ways to bond with, communicate openly with, and empower this generation of boys so that they become confident, respectful men.
Bringing Up Boys supports boy parents (but honestly parents of kids of all genders!) in raising compassionate, empathetic, expressive, and strong men. In the spirit of community, please share with your friends who might be interested!
What will be in the newsletter?
I am here to provide strategies, tips, personal stories and experiences, and resources all intended to help nurture a newer, more positive form of masculinity.
I will send out a newsletter at the beginning of each month with perhaps a couple of extra bonus letters sprinkled in throughout the month. The *best part* is that you can receive this monthly newsletter for free.
Thank you for reading and for joining me on this journey! Subscribe and share with friends & family to receive monthly emails, resources, and to support my work. Hope to write you soon!
More free stuff? Yes! It doesn’t end there… you can also download my 9 Strategies You Can Implement NOW to Raise Boys with Positive Masculinity for free from this Bringing Up Boys newsletter.
