We believe boys need discipline that is clear, consistent, and not harsh. The best discipline is built on the child s love for adults and his wish to please. If that impulse is respected and cultivated, children will continue to be psychologically accessible through their love and respect. If they are unduly shamed, harshly punished, or encounter excessive adult anger, they will soon react to authority with resistance rather than with a desire to do better. Model a manhood of emotional attachment.
Boys imitate what they see.
If what they see is emotional distance, guardedness, and coldness between men, they grow up to emulate that behavior. The loneliness of men has to be addressed in the lives of boys. Boys need to be encouraged to initiate friendships, maintain them, and experience the conflicts that arise in male friendship from different levels of athletic skill, from teasing, and from competition for the attention of girls. Too often boys lack both the resources and the will to resolve those conflicts and preserve friendships. Teach boys that there are many ways to be a man.