Recently on X, Anthony Bradley tweeted,

Whenever I speak at churches and schools, I’m always clear that one of the greatest gifts a parent can give to their son is proper self-confidence. It’s the birthplace of the practice of wisdom. You never have to worry about his decisions. 

Bradley also linked to an article by the Child Mind Institute, which pointed out that a lot of study and attention has been dedicated in recent years to the building of girls’ self-esteem but very little dedicated to building confidence in boys.  

Part of the problem is our cultural move toward androgyny, treating males and females as interchangeable, socially constructed reductions of human beings. But boys and girls are different. There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to parenting or schooling.   

One tragic result of trying is young men unable to control their impulses and prone to self-harm and violence. Any solution must begin with granting how God made us.