Clearly he is hurting, but it is masked in the toughness that fills his voice. I don't know. Maybe, I guess. Every troubled boy has a different story, but their stories share a disturbing theme, a theme of emotional ignorance and isolation. Each day we try to connect with boys like Luke, who are unversed in the subtleties of emotional language and expression and threatened by emotional complexity.
Parents are often at a loss to figure out how best to help.
A boy's world is full of contradictions. A boy longs for connection at the same time he feels the need to begin to pull away, and this opens up an emotional divide. This struggle between his need for connection and his desire for autonomy finds different expression as a boy grows. But regardless of their age, most boys are ill-prepared for the challenges along the road to becoming an emotionally healthy adult. Stereotypical notions of masculine toughness deny a boy his emotions and rob him of the chance to develop the full range of emotional resources.