Male Teenagers
The adolescence of boys is often overlooked as society tends to focus on how girls survive
Learning to get through the hard times of teen years is a big obstacle for a lot of guys
Boys have raging hormones and short attention spans, combined with the challenge of fitting into a society that represents the men they will grow into as strong and ripped. But a new camp for boys and their dads is aiming to make the transition a little bit easier.
The father and sons join about 20 other couplings as they sit around a camp fire and discuss the things that the boys want to know. They can bring up issues such as sex, drugs, love, embarrassing moments and body image.
"It shows them that men can have feelings and not be embarrassed about it," says Robert Grant, who leads the program. "I admire the courage of the boys to ask questions in front of a group of men and the fact that there are genuine attempts to answer them so honestly."
The course is called “Boys to Men” and is a 3 day project headed by Wesley College’s campus near Ballarat.
"It gives the boys the opportunity to talk about issues affecting men in a totally male environment. It's about them trying to find out who they are and why they are. They are learning what it is to be a man and they see what that means from their own father."
Studies have shown that if young guys have a male role model they can look up to, they are better able to succeed in their future. The recent national youth survey taken by Mission Australia, has highlighted this point and provoked schools to add programs such as the one above to their curriculums.
