Our Mission:

Supporting Our Sons is a national nonprofit membership organization committed to promoting a better understanding of boyhood and to empowering parents, educators, and professionals to support the healthy development of our young sons.

It is our belief that society has had a narrow view of what it means to be a boy, leading to a detrimental effect on our sons' chances for true happiness, success, acceptance, and fulfillment. We hope to proactively influence how adults respond to boys, boys' interests, and boys' behaviors in the future.

Today, much as it was a generation ago, many in our society consider the "ideal boy" to be an athlete who does well in school but is not a "nerd." He is spirited but not a "trouble maker." He is sensitive but not overtly so lest he be viewed as too feminine or perhaps even gay. Today's boy is trapped by the "Boy Code," a set off outdated rules about masculine behavior that isolate boys and keeps them from achieving their full potential. Boys are taught that the means to resolve conflict is through aggression, that "big boys don't cry," and that they will be ostracized if they stray from the narrow path of acceptable boyhood behavior. These messages limit boys' choices and cut them off from their emotions.

Desperately trying to conform to this narrow band of acceptable behaviors and interests, boys are suffering. They show us by disengaging in school, by becoming violent towards others and even themselves. This is reflected in the rising statistics of violence, depression, and decline in academic achievement among boys.

Sadly, these lessons of the "Boy Code" are taught at a very young age. Thus, our focus is on early intervention and training at home and at school - impacting those key developmental years from preschool through 8th grade, when boys are learning who they are and what the world will allow them to do. Our objective is to create environments in which boys can truly live beyond the "Boy Code."

Although much good work is being done for boys right now, in most cases the focus of these efforts is on trying to change the behavior of boys. It is our fundamental belief that these efforts will be unsuccessful unless we change the world in which boys operate.

At Supporting Our Sons, we do not believe that boys are the problem. When boys act out, they are responding to a world that does not give them the freedom or the tools to fully express their range of emotional, social, physical, or intellectual potential. Our goal is to impart a better understanding of boyhood through programs for the adults who directly impact the lives of boys, including parents, educators, coaches, and health professionals. We hope to inspire a new respect for boys and influence how society responds to them. In doing so, we will empower our sons to develop beyond the current rigid code for masculine interests and behaviors - expanding their options for success, happiness, and life fulfillment.

We hope you will join us in our efforts. Become a member, donate to SOS, and remember to support your son.