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An urgent and practical book that helps parents and their boys navigate important topics like sex, drugs, bullying, power, consent, and more in a way that helps them grow their emotional intelligence, while also building connection and a closeness that can last a lifetime.Talk to your Boys is a practical guide to communicating with your tween and teen boy with the goal of raising young men who care about themselves and others. The book focuses on 16 essential and wide‑ranging conversations on mental health and masculinity, sex and consent, money and power, violence and guns, and more. Packed with helpful advice, conversation starters, tips and scripts,
Talk to Your Boys is designed to help families get better at having these crucial, but sometimes awkward, discussions with the larger goal to raise emotionally intelligent men who aren't hemmed in by outdated ideas of masculinity.
Co‑authors Joanna Schroeder, a parenting journalist, and Christopher Pepper, an award‑winning educator, have a real understanding of how challenging it is to navigate the ever‑changing worlds of teenagers with compassion and wisdom—especially when one has multiple children at different stages of development. Their practical advice is woven together with interviews with the leading experts in psychology, gender issues, and child development along with the voices and perspectives from dozens of teen boys from different backgrounds.
List of contents
Introduction
- Communication
- Masculinity and Gender
- Emotions and Mental Health
- Dating and Relationships
- Sexuality
- Consent
- Pornography
- Substance Use
- School
- Sports and Extracurriculars
- Screen Time and Technology
- Friendship
- Power, Bullying, and Inclusion
- Violence, Guns, and Fighting
- Racism and Prejudice
- Ethics, Values, Rules, and Laws
Conclusion
About the author
Joanna Schroeder is a writer, editor and media critic who is known for her bold voice and unique perspectives on parenting issues. She currently serves as managing editor of the YourTango Experts program, where she works daily with psychologists, child development experts, life coaches, and parenting consultants. She has been published in The New York Times, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, The Boston Globe, MSN, and The Huffington Post, and has appeared on TV and radio shows like “Red Table Talks” with Jada Pinkett-Smith, “AC360” with Anderson Cooper, “CBSN Originals” with Adam Yamaguchi, CBC News, PBS, NPR, The BBC, Spectrum News and more. She also served as Executive Editor of The Good Men Project. Schroeder is also co-author of the instructional publication Empowering Young Minds: A Conversation Guide for Interrupting Extremist Influence published in partnership with The Western States Center, a not-for-profit organization. She is mother to two teenage sons and a young daughter.
Christopher Pepper is an award-winning educator with a unique background in teaching, journalism, rape prevention, and curriculum development. He coordinates San Francisco Unified School District’s Young Men’s Health Project, which brings middle and high school boys together in small groups to talk about relationships, emotions, and healthy masculinity. After seeing a need for better sex ed lessons in his own classroom, Pepper helped create Be Real. Be Ready., a groundbreaking sexuality education curriculum that is now used in schools around the world. He also worked with the New York Times Learning Network to develop “The Reckoning: Teaching About the #MeToo Moment and Sexual Harassment,” a large package of discussion prompts and classroom lessons. He’s been published in The San Francisco Chronicle, Edutopia, and Greater Good Magazine, and interviewed in USA Today, Mother Jones, Mic, and on National Public Radio. In addition to being a father of two boys, he has also helped parent a foster son.
Summary
An urgent and practical book that helps parents and their boys navigate important topics like sex, drugs, bullying, power, consent, and more in a way that helps them grow their emotional intelligence, while also building connection and a closeness that can last a lifetime.
