Young men need some specific guidance to become the men they are meant to become in the future. Below are some recommended steps for dealing with young men as they are developing culled from Tim Elmore. It is never too early to start to give men the skills and characters they need for their lives.
1. Begin to expose them to role models early. Even if you’re a single mom or a female teacher, you can be intentional about introducing young males to men who can cast vision for a career or a cause they may enjoy. Males need a target to hit. Ask neighbors, colleagues or uncles to speak into the lives of the young men you know. Enlist them as one-day mentors, and see if it may lead to more. (If possible, do this as early as middle school). The key is to build ambition.
2. Screen and limit the screen time. Talk over the issue of video games, computer time, or TV time. Evaluate together what they’re watching and playing. If they’re old enough, decide together what the boundaries will be and stick to them. I simply shared the research with my son and he was the one who suggested: “Maybe I should not play those games so much.” He owned the decision because it was his idea.
3. Provide appropriate hands-on learning opportunities. To insure that adolescent males don’t draw the conclusion they’re “bad students”, why not furnish environments where they can get some experiential learning from a job-site? This could be anywhere from the marketplace to a construction site. Help them find something they love, but something they can learn by doing. Let males be males and exert energy, ambition and passion whenever appropriate.
4. Educate yourself on the effects of prescription drugs. Some boys need them, many don’t. Do your homework; don’t be lazy about this issue. My recommendation is to use drugs sparingly and look for ways to handle leading boys or young men with clear direction and clear goals. See if there may be a link to the chemicals in the plastics you use and the ADHD symptoms you may be spotting in your son or student.
5.  Be careful about male bashing. I know it can be funny, but young guys see a pattern if adults (men or women) do this regularly. At dinner conversations, while watching TV or the evening news, or even after movies, talk about men who serve as great examples of leadership or statesmanship—heroes—in our society. This may feel cheesy, but they need it. Most young guys think more concretely than abstractly. They need clear examples of a target to shoot for.
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