{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Raising Men","title":"Why Boys Are Falling Behind (and What We Can Do About It) with Steve Biddulph","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2568,"description":"In this episode, Shaun Dawson sits down with Steve Biddulph, a world-renowned psychologist, educator, and author of the global bestsellers Raising Boys and The New Manhood. With over three decades of experience, Steve explores the \"quiet crisis\" facing boys today—from school environments that disadvantage their slower biological development to a digital landscape that is rewriting the rules of adolescence. This conversation is a roadmap for parents who want to raise emotionally healthy sons of character, courage, and conviction.Key TakeawaysThe Biological Development Gap: Testosterone in the womb slows male development; by the time boys reach school age, they are often 6 to 12 months behind girls in speech and fine motor skills.The Case for \"Holding Back\": Many boys benefit significantly from starting school one year later, allowing them to match the maturity of their female peers and avoid a lifelong trajectory of restlessness and academic discouragement.Mirror Learning & Masculine Virtues: Qualities like patience and kindness are \"caught, not taught.\" Boys need thousands of hours of male company to absorb these complex, nonverbal skills through their nervous systems.Combating Digital Miseducation: Parents must actively counter the harmful \"algorithmic\" effects of social media and the \"miseducation\" of pornography by setting firm boundaries—such as no devices in bedrooms and supporting under-16 social media bans.The Father as a Safety Anchor: A father’s most important role is to be a \"safety go-to guy\". True strength lies in a father’s ability to manage his own strong feelings so his son never feels the need to protect himself from his own father.Quotes \"You give a man the right help, he will turn around.\"\"I made sure he knew what a good man looked like because you can't turn into one if you've never seen one.\" (Quoting a single mother’s wisdom on role models)\"A good kid is a still kid... but his body's screaming.\" (On the physical difficulty boys face sitting...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/2uuITx2j-lZJp2iIhjw55xbaGtfwoyDcHPS-ELTBlxA/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mZmQ1/ZGM3MjJkNTdmODY0/MjE0MmYyYWQzMDE0/ZDhiMi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}