Struggling School-Age Boys

Try homeschooling. Last I checked, studies showed that the girl vs. boy reading gap and other problems were nearly non-existent in homeschooled children. Might be worth checking into.

When the women's movement began, everyone killed themselves to assist females in education-knee jerk reaction. Now males are paying the price, still hamstrung by sterotypes activists love to retreat to-you hate women and are sexist. There are many women who practice sexism but there is no law against this; only words. Scholarships for females-good:Scholarships for males-illeagle. Toilet menatlity.

ya, ok...why don't we look at the REAL problem. School is turning more and more into jail. You can do this, you can't do this. Do what we say, or your parents will go to jail. You can't wear this to express yourself, you can't show affection in public, if your 5 minutes late because your parents vehicle wouldn't start, you have to serve detention.


The problem isn't medication, or 'Structure;, or the fact that "our boys need a strong education so i can turn them into a military killng machine at the age of 12!".....its the fact that they have no outlet for what they want to do. Schools have been to governmentalized, and have been taken too far out of the hands of the parents and the teachers. Last I checked we weren't quite communists....even though we are heading in that direction. Bring back our personal freedoms, and our children's personal freedoms..give us the right to decide 'What is best for them...' I mean, isn't that our job? Isn't that the responsibility we placed on ourselves by HAVING them? Then again, how many parents are using school simply as a babysetting program..and then don't know what to do with their children when they get home, and simply get fed up of being controlled every second of the day and rebel? Our children MUST have an education...but they must NOT be disallowed to be kids.

I think part of the problem is the teachers, or actually everything they have to teach. They have so much to cover is such a small amount of time. Sometimes I get a call from my brother for help because he has problems on his homework that weren't covered in class.

And it doesn't help how they're banning recess, boys need to run around, play, burn their energy. Now they're stuck in class probably fidgeting in their seats and causing trouble for the teacher instead of paying attention to the lesson.

Well that's my opinion.

I think part of the problem is the teachers, or actually everything they have to teach. They have so much to cover is such a small amount of time. Sometimes I get a call from my brother for help because he has problems on his homework that weren't covered in class.

And it doesn't help how they're banning recess, boys need to play and burn there energy. Now they're stuck in class fidgeting in their seats and causing trouble for the teachers.

Well that's my opinion.

I think part of the problem is the teachers, or actually everything they have to teach. They have so much to cover is such a small amount of time. Sometimes I get a call from my brother for help because he has problems on his homework that weren't covered in class.

This doesn not mean children (boys) are struggling--it means parents are relying too heavily on doctors and medication to solve thier problems with their children. ADD is more of an excuse these days than an ailment.

I think it's disgusting that children are diagnosed with mental disorders and drugged with some of the most dangerous, deadly drugs on the market. I think we are being sold a bill of goods that will be felt long, long in to the future! We all know that drugs should not be used to mask our emotions. Children need a proper diet, exercise, parental love and interaction and a strong education. They do not need a label, drug habit and messed up emotional development.

Give me a boy, Oh God,
who is willing to learn the true value of honor,
the necessity of perseverance and loyalty,
and the meaningfulness of devotion to God and country.
And I shall take this boy as does a blacksmith take a crude piece of metal,
and place him over a forge whose liberating flame of education
is fired by the bellows of strict military discipline.

Into this ingot of a man I shall temper self-respect and self-discipline,
fear of God and respect for mankind, appreciation of freedom and
awareness of what sacrifices must be made to preserve freedom,
and above all an insatiable desire for truth and honesty.
And when all these things I have done, I shall brand my finished work with
a ring of gold to let all of humanity know that I have given back to the world
a ...Citadel Man.

This was the former Citadel prayer that was banned when females were forced into that academy. I think we can all agree that the virtues the prayer seeks are worthwhile and vital to a functioning and safe society.

But the feminists won, and now our sons are medicated for growing into men. We've effectively taken away the hearts of men and that is why we see so many confused, violent and queer young men.

Gentlemen, we weren't meant to be this way. We've got to fight for our own hearts and for the future that is in our sons.

Our children - especially our boys who are more susceptible due to the testosterone in their body that impairs their ability to detoxify metals and toxins - are being overloaded with toxins from many sources. Our environment is saturated with toxins, including our water, food and also the toxins we willingly inject into them via vaccines (36 in the first two years of life). Their nutrition is inadequate and they are not processing the food they do eat properly due to the effect of all the toxins. Their immunity is impaired, they come down with an infection (ex. ear infection), take very strong antibiotics which upsets the bacteria balance in their GI tract, enabling fungus (ex. candida) to become overgrown, damage their stomachs and cause proteins from food to leak to their brain and impair their neurological and behavioral functioning, as well as ruin their immune system, setting them up for more illness. The rates of ADHD, Ashtma, Allergies and Autism have increased dramatically - all of these conditions are immune related and we must take action. Reduce the toxins that you can, reduce exposure to unneccessary ones (ex. Hep B vaccine for sexually transmitted diseases that we currently give to all of our ONE DAY OLD infants - as if they are going to start having sex and become infected?!) This is a much larger issue than global warming - we need to wake up and take control of our children's health.

I believe that prez50 is correct. I have i nephew and three nieces. His mom and many of his teachers claim that he not only has adhd but they also don't allow him to ACT LIKE A BOY. PART OF BEING A BOY IS RUFF AND TUMBLE PLAY. growing up as a kid i learned about guns and camping and fishing. my nephew is hidden away and his mom is reluctant to let me take an active male role in his life. My wife agrees with me that while its not appropriate for him to hit his sisters (hes only five and his sisters are older) he should be allowed to behave as a boy should. so i snuck in a major cool present at his birthday "the dangeroud book for boys". his mom cant take away a book because thats what she wants him to be stay at home and be "NICE LIKE HIS SISTERS" totally inappropriate.

I believe that prez50 is correct. I have i nephew and three nieces. His mom and many of his teachers claim that he not only has adhd but they also don't allow him to ACT LIKE A BOY. PART OF BEING A BOY IS RUFF AND TUMBLE PLAY. growing up as a kid i learned about guns and camping and fishing. my nephew is hidden away and his mom is reluctant to let me take an active male role in his life. My wife agrees with me that while its not appropriate for him to hit his sisters (hes only five and his sisters are older) he should be allowed to behave as a boy should. so i snuck in a major cool present at his birthday "the dangeroud book for boys". his mom cant take away a book because thats what she wants him to be stay at home and be "NICE LIKE HIS SISTERS" totally inappropriate.

I have to agree with "Justadadnmom." The way children are disciplined now has A LOT to do with their behavior. I don't by into the theory that every other child that has behavior issues has ADHA or ADD or anything else. I think some of these problems can be fixed by parents and changes in lifestyle and not through therapy or drugs. What do the majority of kids do with free time? It used to be reading, playing outdoors, playing cops and robbers or cowboys and indians. Now they watch television for hours on end or play video games where the screen is constantly changing and there is a never ending stream of images being engrained on their brains...and we wonder why they can't pay attention to a single image, whether it be a teacher, on a chalk board, or in a book, for more then 5 seconds. Also, bad behavior is not aggresively treated as it used to be. I see kids in stores on the floor throwing fits cause they can't have something and then mom or dad give in just so the kid stops. I know that if I had done that my rear-end would be sore for a week. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way shape or form in favor of unreasonably beating kids. That is pure and simply wrong. Spanking however is not in the same category when done in concern for the child's future. Children who grow up thinking that the world revolves around them and that they should get what they want when they want it and however often they want it without an ounce of greatfulness are in for a rude awakening when they go into the world. The kids of today are our nations future and if the trend of our nation continues I think we all are in for a rude awakening...

I've worked in the public school system so I've observed this first hand. Elementary schools used to have three recess periods: 15 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes at lunch, and then evening recess. Nowadays if kids are lucky to have any recess at all it's a mere 15 minutes after lunch. In our district they took recess away from 4th and 5th graders. This goes right along with this article because one of the observations was that behavior problems (especially among boys!) spiked after this. Unfortunately those poor kids still go without any breaks.
One of my friends is a kindergarten teacher and she has taught since the late 70's and she said back then kindergarten was mainly a combination of playtime and learning simple things like letters and counting. In contrast nowadays she is teaching what used to be taught in not only the 1st grade but also some 2nd grade material. She was told by her principal to get rid of the toys and toy kitchen in her classroom because playing isn't "academically productive". She kindergarten kids be that concerned about being "academically productive"? It's like we're trying to turn children into adults. And another thing I'd like to comment upon are the 3-hour uninterrupted reading periods in elementary classrooms.in the district where I used to work. It's difficult for adults to sit completely still and work on one subject without any breaks at all for three hours, and yet we expect small elementary school kids to do this?
To help boys in school we need to do three things:
1. Stop turning schools into test-prep centers and start bringing back things like recess, hands-on activities, nature walks, etc. Kids are neither computers nor adults and we need to stop treating them like they are.
2. More discipline in the classroom.
3. More parental involvement. Alot of parents have very little involvement in their children's lives and this harms them academically. They view school as little more than a daycare center and think that it's the teacher's responsibility to raise their kids for them. If we had more parental involvement then it would help all kids, not just boys.

I have 4 boys, one is exceptionally smart and the other three are the all around rough and tough little boys, they all love to learn and are excited about school (mostly i'm sure because of friends). Children don't play like they used to. When I send my boys outside to play, no one is out, and when asked to come out they rarely do. I was always outside when I was growing up. Funding for schools is ridiculous, when it should be our highest priority (is this how we secure our future??!!!). Boys need a place where they can express themselves, and teachers need to be freed from all the standardized manditory testing. The school system needs a major overhaul and priorities need to be set straight, and I am at a loss at how to get this process started!!!! BUT IT HAS TO BE DONE!

I agree! I am a freshman in college and when I look at my 2nd grade nieces homework, i must say, she does a lot more than I did in 2nd grade. She cries a lot about school. She is in a special reading course, and does not find school fun. With this rate, especially with how it is going in young males, I expect the drop out rate to increase, due to a child's lack of FEELING intelligent. I'm sick of doctors putting children on medication for ADHD for being a normal kid! It doesn't take a genius, or even a mother, to figure out that there is something wrong with our school systems! Looking into my future, I will definatly consider home schooling my children, but I also have a fear of them lacking social skills due to it.

I believe the main reason for this is the femenization of our society that is starting to show up in young boys behavior. No one ever wants to admit or discuss that! It does not mean that we raise our boys to be aggressive or disrespectful toward women or girls. It means that we recognize that there are natural differences in boys and girls and we need to raise them as such. Insead what is happening from education to entertainment boys and males are shown and taught to take on more feminine characteristics than are normal for healthy male development. Perfect example "METROSEXUAL" a male with traditional feminine qualities and behaviors. Anytime boys or males act as boys or males do naturally and historically, they are now diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed drugs, unheard of twenty or so years ago. It will be very difficult for any male young or old to keep their sanity in a society that frowns on everything that is inhearently natural about being a red-blooded male!!! Do your homework and address how you are raising your boys and make sure you are allowing them to actually be boys!

I believe the main reason for this is the femenization of our society that is starting to show up in young boys behavior. No one ever wants to admit or discuss that! It does not mean that we raise our boys to be aggressive or disrespectful toward women or girls. It means that we recognize that there are natural differences in boys and girls and we need to raise them as such. Insead what is happening from education to entertainment boys and males are shown and taught to take on more feminine characteristics than are normal for healthy male development. Perfect example "METROSEXUAL" a male with traditional feminine qualities and behaviors. Anytime boys or males act as boys or males do naturally and historically, they are now diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed drugs, unheard of twenty or so years ago. It will be very difficult for any male young or old to keep their sanity in a society that frowns on everything that is inhearently natural about being a red-blooded male!!! Do your homework and address how you are raising your boys and make sure you are allowing them to actually be boys!

I disagree with much of this article. For one I think more parents are concerned with these issues because we are becoming an evolved society. We use to just say 'Boys will be boys', and pass it off as normal behavior. Nowadays with all of the studies etc done, we are more sensitive to these issues. More people hear of them, therefore more people bring these issues up with their children's pediatrician.
Secondly, I HIGHLY disagree with the educational aspects. Although I can not accurately gauge all schools, because I attended private school, and my son now attends public school. I think the opposite is true. I believe that LESS is expected of our children, academically speaking. The curriculums are way easier and at a lower level than they use to be.
Also, I do not agree with the author saying it could be because nowadays we jam pack our childrens days from morning to night. Well, I haven't. My son has had plenty of leisure time, to the excess probably!! And he has had issues for years. We are now discovering that they are neurological problems. He regressed, developmentally speaking, and behaviorally after hitting the back of his head on a coffee table.
Family issues can also be a huge contributing factor to childrens misbehavior and short attention span. And in this day and age of what is really a recession in our economy, there is more stress in the home, more abuse going on. Boys tend to act out more than girls do also. Also, of course the obvious, which is LACK OF DISCIPLINE. People let their children run all over them nowadays.
So as you can see, there are many reasons why children have these issues. So trying to point the finger at one area is just obtuse.