The Mother Flipping Awesome Podcast

Season 3, Episode 1:

Decoding Boys with Guest Janet Allison

On this episode, Abigail interviews...

Janet Allison

Janet is the Founder of Boys Alive! and the co-host of the popular ON BOYS Parenting Podcast. With a B.S. in Elementary Education, she is a speaker, author, educator, family coach, and a featured on-air parenting expert. She has been advocating for boys and supporting those who parent, teach, and care for them for over 20 years. She is a dynamic, inclusive, and inspiring presenter, blending real-life stories with scientific research, motivating parents and teachers to take on the critical task of our time: raising confident, capable, caring men. And now, here she is with us on the Mother Flipping Awesome Podcast!

Sneak peek:

On this episode, we discuss what boys need more of - and less of - in our society, in order to be the amazing force for good that they can be. We talk about our shared connection with Michael Gurian, the preschool-to-prison pipeline, and how to help our boys tame their sometimes aggressive tendencies through physical play. If you've got boys, you need this. And if you've got girls, you might need it even more! 

2:00 Meet Janet Allison, founder of Boys Alive!

4:00 Janet started as a teacher in the mid 90's and was surprised and delighted by the active and curious boys in her classroom.

5:00 Michael Gurian’s book about boys' brain development and different communication styles was very influential in Janet’s work.

6:20 You may be wondering why we are putting the sexes in boxes? A conversation about the harm in also not allowing the differences in life.

7:30 There isn’t one right way in parenting so it’s fine to try different angles to see if they can help your family thrive.

10:40 Sometimes we find ourselves talking to our son as he is swinging upside down and we actually might have 100% of their attention.

12:30 Little boys are getting expelled from preschool. They are expected to sit still, be on screens and listen to lots of talking.

17:00 Boys that are labeled as bad and that something is wrong with them is deeply felt which expresses differently.

19:00 Want a deep conversation with your boy? It may look like tiny little sprinkle conversations.

20:20 Seeing anger as an expression of feelings that can be channeled into positive self agency for the child to speak their mind, sometimes without words.

22:00 A story about a 1st grader that got a message that all the girls in class are perfect and he is the bad one.

23:30 Boys need our help to soothe the pain underneath the anger, see the boundary crossed, and what was valuable to them that needed to be expressed.

26:00 Boys will likely be connected to you and learning through physical activity.

30:00 You aren’t alone if your kid has punched you or thrown a toy at you, and yes, there are things you can do to help. 

Janet's gift for you:

Visit boysalive.com, where you can grab Janet's free report YOUR BOY & HIS BIG EMOTIONS: Common parenting mistakes & what to do instead.