Reflections   back to MANNET
MORE REFLECTIONS
BOYS
  • Boys are misunderstood and because we misunderstand their vitality, their enthusiasm, boisterousness and overall cheekiness as part of their "growing up" we treat them badly.
    • From a young age boys are disciplined for being boys and after awhile this treatment turns some boys into what we regard as "ratbags" or "rebellious".
  • We punish and control boys more harshly than girls and they come to resent it and some rebel.
    • Boys are not nurtured for their kindness when young, but in some cases are put down. This happens in the school system and even from kinder.
  • Boys have a fragile ego and self-esteem, which they hide, as do men. Much is expected of them in our very materialistic world where wealth / sport are seen as the pinnacle of success, not all boys reach this goal that society sees as success.
    • Our fathers enjoyed a much greater range of opportunities that suited boys, such as all boy schools, trade schools, leaving in Year 10, plus a lot of outdoor work, more hands on and hand skilled trades, opportunities of adventure either in the Army or pioneering the new country of Australia. Sport was more available to more boys, not just the best.
  • Boys looked forward to a place in society that was seen as very important - the head of a household with the responsibility of providing for a family.
    • Today men share this role, so they need to seek out other ways of defining themselves and their role. We don't want to go back, but we must support boys to go forward.
  • Boys see the hurdles of men in society, the unemployment, lack of opportunity, the downsizing of their rural communities and that their fathers, uncles and men in the community are depressed by the current economic and social outcomes.
    • They question their future and some give up more than others.
  • We need to provide, as adults, a more confident outlook and more real support other than just an education for our boys - we need to understand and engage our young men better - so their future is better defined for them now.
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