Best of the Blogs

 I'm a little late (OK, a lot late) getting today's post up because I spent the day at a local wetlands with my kindergartener and his class. I found a lot of great content this week, though! Here is this week's Best of the Blogs:

The Issues Our Boys Face.  PigTail Pals -- normally a site about raising girls -- ran this intriguing post earlier this week. The author surveyed her Facebook community to see what concerns moms of boys, and what struck me most about it was the fact that some of the comments seemed downright contradictory. Example: Josh B. says that "Boys get the “male role” installed on them beginning at a very young age," but Amanda J. says, "I wish it was “okay” for a little boy to be masculine."

Personally,  I most closely identify with Amanda's concerns. She writes:

"It seems to me that boys have been stripped of their identity in an effort to groom them to be more sensitive, and the little boy who has no natural inclination to wear a pink tutu or play dolls, runs the risk of being labeled a caveman who grows up to beat his wife...There’s too much political correctness in childhood. Adults are projecting way too much on what should simply be child’s play.”

What issue do you think is most pressing for our boys?

The Latest Trend: Alcatraz Parenting. I've always thought that video baby monitors were going a little overboard. (Heck, soon after bringing my first son home from the hospital, I discovered that audio baby monitors were too much. Trust me, a baby knows how to make his needs known!) Modern technology has made it possible to track our kids at all times -- but is that a good thing?

Drug Use in Pop Culture.  I found this infographic on MammaSaid, but it's all over the Internet. It's a quick look at exactly how thoroughly our kids are immersed in a culture that is perhaps all-too-accepting of alcohol and drug abuse.


Four Things Boys Learn From Their Fathers. Dads are important -- and Thing #1 in this post reiterates dads' importance in teaching boys how to respect and relate to women.

20 Things No One Told Me About Little Boys. Anything that reminds me of the fun of having boys gets a thumbs up on my blog! What would you add to amalah's list?


Did you read anything interesting or amazing this week? Share a link in the comment section below!