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Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
3 Ways All-Boys Summer Camps Can Help Parents Keep Them on the Right Track
Fact checked by Sarah Scott A few recent notable trends among American boys include a decline in academics and close friendships, and an increase in disciplinary action and exposure to harmful influencer content. While not always a predictor of success, these trends still point to risks parents should be aware of. But what if a way to help boys thrive is already available to us via all-boys summer camps? Being in nature and regular exercise benefit everyone's mental health and are core to most camps. But according to experts, all-boys summer camps—many of which now embrace gender inclusivity—are uniquely suited to benefit boys in three ways: They provide a safe, structured environment where boys can develop friendships. They provide well-trained camp counselors who act as mentors. They enforce rules that allow boys to practice ethics and morality. Parents recently spoke with experts to better understand how these camps can actually help counteract troubling trends among boys, and how families can make the best decision for them. Zac Seidler, clinical psychologist and global director of men's health research at the Movember Institute for Men's Health, explains that boys have shown a level of discomfort and uncertainty around making in-person connections, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. This likely contributes to an increase in screen time. But Seidler says residential summer camps' strict no-screen policies can help to make the reintroduction of in-person interactions more seamless. 'There's real power in filling that void with something healthy that builds an emotional muscle for them,' Seidler tells Parents. He also notes it's easier to place some structure around technology when everyone else at camp is going to be screen-free as well, adding, 'I think it's actually the healthiest way of getting boys offline." Michael G. Thompson, PhD, a child developmental psychologist, who trains counselors and staff at several all-boys camps, notes the emphasis placed on selecting effective counselors is essential. Counselors who provide deep kindness and empathy to campers model healthier, more expansive examples of masculinity to boys. 'It's a magic combination,' says Dr. Thompson. 'There's nobody that an 11 or 12-year-old boy admires more than a 21-year-old young man.' Thompson believes the magic lies in the dramatic difference in physical appearance and maturity levels between campers and counselors, but the relatively small gap in their ages. 'The boys think, 'I can be that in a few years,'' he says. This is particularly important in light of a new study from the Movember Institute of Men's Health that found 60% of American boys engage with masculinity influencers (like Andrew Tate) on a regular basis. Krista Fisher, one of Movember's researchers, explained that boys are likely drawn to this content because the influencers talk to their audience like a "cool big brother" and, as a result, boys end up seeing them as role models. But this hypermasculine content has also been found to increase feelings of worthlessness, depression, restlessness, sadness, and nervousness in boys who engage with it. On the other hand, Seidler believes that having healthy, well-trained role models like a camp counselor, can have the opposite effect. 'There is a retraining and relearning that can happen when boys have a number of weeks with a 'real guy' in front of them,' he says. When campers hear counselors talk about their own lives, relationships, and challenges it illustrates the multifaceted reality of masculinity: there is no single way to be a man. 'Boys need real-life offline figures who can speak to the messiness of manhood,' says Seidler. The investment that camps make to educate counselors also reflects the moral and ethical guidance they provide to campers more broadly. Most camps have a set of mottos or rules that are meant to help campers navigate life's challenges at camp and in society. Take for example Camp Becket YMCA, an all-boys summer camp in Massachusetts. The camp's mottos, which are posted all over the grounds include: 'Help the other fellow' 'Peace through understanding' 'Manners maketh the man' These types of lessons can be foundational to how boys grow into men. Dr. Thompson interviewed two men in their 50s who attended Camp Becket as children and, decades after their camp days, still referred to themselves as 'Becket Boys.' They said the moral lessons they learned at the all-boys camp became a foundational part of their moral compasses as adults. An all-boys camp, of course, isn't going to be a good fit for every family. But if you do want to go that route, selecting one you're comfortable with takes a bit of research up front. The American Camp Association lists 119 accredited all-boys camps nationwide. While parents can use the association's database to find camps that match certain criteria like location, cost, and special needs, Thompson suggests taking a simpler and more effective route: ask the people in your community for recommendations. From there, he advises having a conversations with camp directors about their approaches and the values of their camps. If costs are a concern, it's also a good time to bring up financial aid, which is something that many camps now offer. It is also worth noting that Dr. Thompson thinks boys should only be sent to single gender camps if they attend co-ed schools during the academic year, noting that both co-ed and single gender experiences are vital for children's development. Choosing between sleepaway (or residential) camps and day camps can be important as well. Dr. Thompson says it certainly provides a more intensive and holistic experience while also giving boys the opportunity to fully disconnect from all technology for the length of their stay. But if they are not ready for the full experience away from home, Dr. Thompson says boys can still get some of the same benefits from day camps. Providing boys with experiences like all-boys summer camps opens up an environment where boys and men are allowed to express the full breadth and depth of their humanity. Once this foundation is established, it becomes easier for parents and educators to build upon through supportive conversations. 'Boys can see that this [way of living] is something they want to fight for rather than feeling like it's thrust upon them,' says Seidler. 'If you provide them that sense of autonomy, they will find a way to make better choices.' Read the original article on Parents
Globe and Mail
13-06-2025
- Health
- Globe and Mail
The state of men's health in Canada is a crisis we can no longer ignore
Mark Holland is Canada's former minister of health, the former leader of the government in the House of Commons, the former chief government whip and the former executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Ontario Mission. The trend in men's health is moving in the wrong direction, and the cost is staggering. It's not just the lives of the people we love that are at risk; it's also draining our economy and overwhelming our health care system. The conditions and outcomes driving this crisis are largely preventable, yet we continue to treat the symptoms rather than confront the root causes. We cannot build enough hospitals or hire enough doctors and nurses to keep pace with the rising tide of chronic illness and mental health issues. Our most powerful tool is prevention, and too often it is our least considered one. Nowhere is this more evident – or alarming – than when it comes to the health of Canadian men. A new report from the Movember Institute of Men's Health reveals that more than two in five Canadian men will die prematurely – before the age of 75 – from largely preventable causes. While a portion of these deaths are attributable to conditions like cancer and heart disease, there is a growing, disconcerting trend in Canada that chronic illness isn't the only battle men are facing with their health. Between January and June of 2024 alone, men accounted for 72 per cent of deaths caused by accidental opioid toxicity, and 64 per cent of opioid-related hospitalizations in Canada. Suicide remains the fourth-leading cause of death among men and occurs at three times the rate seen in women. This crisis isn't only about biology; it's deeply cultural. Sixty-one per cent of men report feeling pressure to 'tough it out' or hide their pain. Harmful social norms continue to equate masculinity with stoicism – defining strength as the ability to silently endure, to shoulder hurt invisibly, or to numb pain altogether. International clinical trial shows exercise improves survival for colon cancer patients This resonates personally. In the lead-up to the 2011 federal election and the aftermath of losing my seat, I wanted to appear strong. I feared that speaking about the mental-health challenges I was experiencing would make me appear weak or frail. I wanted my family, friends and especially potential employers to see me as strong, so I suffered alone. I didn't seek help, and it almost cost me my life. Outdated ideas of strength are not making us more resilient – they're fuelling a health crisis. If we want to stop unnecessarily losing the men we love, we need a cultural shift. That means reframing how we talk about men's health and how we design our health policies. In 1999, Canada introduced a national women's health strategy, which served as a catalyst for advancements in women's health. While there is still more work to do, the strategy helped align health system stakeholders and signalled the importance of gender-responsive care. Canada would similarly benefit from the development of a national men's health strategy – one that prioritizes improving mental-health literacy, equips health care workers to better engage men, advances targeted research and scales gender-informed programs through a Canada-wide Men's Health Centre. Together, these efforts would help the health care system listen more closely to men, support them without judgment and address the unique barriers they face. These are clear, actionable steps that would lead to measurable improvements. Other countries have demonstrated what is possible. Ireland launched the world's first National Men's Health Strategy in 2008. Since then, Irish men's life expectancy has increased by nearly three years – from 76.8 in 2008 to 79.6 in 2022 – and male suicide rates have declined. These outcomes weren't driven by breakthrough technologies, but by targeted strategies focused on prevention, outreach and cultural change. If you give a dad a pickleball: Why what men need most this Father's Day is a connection to other dads At the core of a national strategy is the imperative to invest in prevention. Our health care system is under strain. If we continue to respond only to illness instead of preventing it, we will remain trapped in a cycle we cannot afford. In 2024, Canada spent an estimated $12.4-billion treating avoidable cases of just five major health issues disproportionately affecting men: coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and suicide. The only sustainable path is upstream – stopping illness before it begins. The solutions to save countless lives and billions of dollars are within our grasp. There's no ribbon to cut or monument to point to. It will take time, and it will initially be invisible. But we know what works. We can create a future with fewer preventable deaths, lower health care costs and vastly increased productivity. Canada has the knowledge, tools and capacity to lead this transformation. What we need now is the public will to act. We must start a national conversation – one that places prevention at the foundation of our health care system and reimagines what it means to care for men's health.
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Project stars go on rant about 'toxic masculinity' infecting young Aussie men
Stars of Channel 10's The Project have shared fears about the growing impact of toxic masculinity and 'manosphere' influencers like the notorious Andrew Tate. Hosts of the panel show, including Waleed Aly and Georgie Tunny, aired their concerns during a segment on Thursday's show about the rise of online 'alpha male' culture and its impact on young men. According to a new study conducted by the Movember Institute, influencers who spouted similar attitudes to Tate are causing more harm to Australian youths than previously thought. The Project's report concluded that alpha male influencers were creating 'long-lasting and damaging effects [which has become] the norm.' 'I don't know what's more terrifying, the concept of being the parent to a young boy or a young girl who is navigating this world,' said Georgie during the segment. 'You are constantly being told be careful, you've got to protect yourself and [that] "men bad", '"boys bad" and they are the enemy in a way... 'But then is it more terrifying to be parents to a young boy who's got the same images and rhetoric flying at him?' Georgie then asked 'where are the positive role models?' for young men. 'Why are they [influencers] constantly calling out the negative ones?' she said. Panelist Susie Youssef addressed the difficulties of queer kids and kids transitioning in the current online climate. 'There's such a broad spectrum here toward gender and sexuality and its heartening in a way to see young men questioning the role models they've been provided with' she said. 'But also where are the positive male role models that are masculine? What does that look like? I don't begin to have the answers but it does feel like there's a gap here.' Waleed, meanwhile, set out to explain the attraction that influencers have for young people. 'Does our culture have a way of talking about masculinity that is celebrating it?' he asked. Susie Youssef asked: 'Where are the positive male role models that are masculine? What does that look like? I don't begin to have the answers but it does feel like there's a gap here' 'I think the answer to that right now is "no". It comes after Andrew Tate was compared to terrorists and religious extremists by Australian academics. They also found Tate's attacks on boys and men who don't fit 'his very rigid interpretation of masculinity' are far more common than his sexist views on women. Professor Steven Roberts and Dr Stephanie Wescott of Melbourne's Monash University analysed more than 2,200 posts by Tate on his website and the Telegram messaging platform from December 31, 2019 to January 9, 2024. 'The extremist radicalisation of boys and men by 'manfluencer' Andrew Tate shares concerning parallels to other forms of radicalisation, such as terrorist and religious extremism,' the study found. The experts said their analysis showed that 'what might seem like innocuous or harmless 'self-improvement' content is a gateway to more dangerous misogynistic and extremist content. Almost 90 per cent of the posts by Tate on his website and Telegram account focused 'on advancing particular projections of what he views as the ideal manifestation of manhood and masculinity,' the research found.
