Renowned “queen of common sense” Maggie Dent will hold a sold-out parenting seminar at North Lakes this October 15 to celebrate the release of her book Mothering Our Boys.
The author, educator and parenting resilience specialist told Feature Magazine she has been a “champion of boys” for decades, not only as the mother of four sons, but as a high school teacher of almost two decades.
“There is a crisis in boys in the western world,” Maggie says. “It all comes down to the old code that we now know is shifting – the perception that the only way to raise a little boy to be a good man is to discipline them hard or else they’re just not going to come good.”
“It’s not true and it’s, frankly, damaging. We need to stop hitting and hurting and shaming our boys, and work out other ways to deal with things ourselves, so that they can too.”
The North Lakes seminar will cover off on the specifics of Maggie’s new book, and its contents will strike a “lightbulb” moment for parents who want to understand their boys better.
“With seminars like these the complete epiphanies are often experienced by the mothers of boys that had no brothers and really walked into the role with very little understanding,” Maggie says.
“The same goes for the mothers who did have brothers but who have styled their parenting on the unhealthy stereotypes about bringing up boys they carried forward from their own childhoods when there was an outdated understand of how to best get through to boys,”
And with tickets already all snapped up, it seems local mums clambered for their chance to see Maggie onstage. And what about the dads?
Maggie says while the book’s title is aimed at mothers, its contents are geared towards anyone charged with caring for young boys, including fathers, teachers, aunties and family friends.
“The biggest takeaway we have seen for dads is the realisations they have about how their relationship with their own parents shaped the way they were bringing up their boys,” Maggie says.
“As part of the book I interviewed 1,600 men about the things they wished their own mothers did differently when parenting them, and the things they can pinpoint their mums did really well.
“The responses range from wishing their mum had taught them how to do the basics of housekeeping or wishing she’d let them express themselves like their sisters, to being thankful they were taught the ins and outs of social justice.”
The book contains insightful tips to help readers build cooperative relationships with young boys in their care in a light-hearted way, with practical steps to help raise a respectful, responsible and happy man.
Topics such as navigating tricky stages such as; toddlerhood, the fierce fours, the sensitive eights, puberty and 18+ will be covered, with Maggie drawing guidelines from her “discipline without damage” approach.
Maggie visited North Lakes State College in 2016 for her ‘Boys, Boys, Boys’ seminar and will be returning to the same venue from 7pm-9pm on October 15.
While tickets to Maggie’s local seminar are sold out, parents (and teachers) can find a go-to-guide of Maggie’s key articles, audios, videos and other resources at www.maggiedent.com.