Raising Boys in a World That Needs Better Men: 10 Things to Start Today

A listener favorite, back by popular demand! This conversation feels more relevant than ever. We're revisiting one of our most important episodes about raising boys and the small, science-backed things we can do today to shape the men they'll become. Because how we raise our boys today matters for the world they'll help shape tomorrow.

If you’re raising a boy, this episode will light a fire in you - in the best, most empowering way. Because here’s the truth: The kind of men our boys become is not random - it’s not just personality, or fate. It’s shaped - day by day - in childhood. In how we respond to their anger, their tears, their mistakes.

Parents are not just witnessing who their sons become; we are actively building the men they will be - through parenting. And the most hopeful part? There are concrete, science-backed things you can start doing today that measurably shift your child’s emotional trajectory - and the kind of partner, friend, and human he will one day be.

In this bold, honest, sometimes funny-so-you-don’t-cry episode, Deena goes straight at the stuff that feels big and scary to say out loud: male entitlement, emotional shutdown, aggression, consent failures, unequal partnership, and why “boys will be boys” has quietly lowered the bar for generations. Then, she flips the script - with science, real stories, and concrete parenting tools you can start literally today - so you walk away knowing exactly how to raise a boy who feels deeply, respects boundaries, takes accountability, and is safe to love.

Here are the 10 daily actions that turn little boys into great men - starting TODAY:

• Why emotional skills in men are built - or blocked - in early childhood

• The critical difference between allowing anger vs. allowing harm

• How to teach consent and bodily autonomy starting in toddlerhood

• Why boys receive less emotional coaching (and how to change that)

• Rough play, wrestling, and what it’s actually doing in the brain

• Teaching boys about periods, care work, and partnership early

• How to build empathy and perspective-taking in daily moments

• Accountability and repair: the skill many men never learned

• Why punishment and shame backfire - especially for boys

• The core message boys need about love, power, and safety

You’ll leave this episode feeling seen in the weight of raising boys today, and radically empowered in how much influence you actually have. Because you’re not just raising a child; you’re shaping the kind of man the world will one day meet. And once you hear this, you’ll parent your son differently tomorrow morning.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

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