How to Raise a Gentle Man

From birth we treat boys differently to girls: we hold them less, talk to them less and discipline them more harshly. Society is full of stereotyped masculinity and families often pass down inherited beliefs of what ‘manliness’ should look like.

How to Raise a Gentle Man is a book for any parent or carer who wants to break that cycle and for those who are fed up with boys being blamed for everything. Toxic masculinity doesn’t just hurt women and girls, it hurts boys too.

Sarah Ockwell-Smith, bestselling childcare expert and mother to three young men, argues that the answer to raising kind, respectful and gentle boys is not to ban social media or access to the internet, lay the blame solely at the feet of the incel movement or misogynistic influencers or to introduce reactionary Governmental education policies as a response to Netflix documentaries.

The only truly effective way to help our boys is through the way we raise them.

How to Raise a Gentle Man gives step by step instructions for concerned parents and carers who want to get to the root of the problem and help boys to thrive in the manosphere. Whether you’re a parent to a newborn, a teacher to an eight year old, or raising a teenager, you’ll find plenty of advice here for you.

Author Biography

Sarah Ockwell-Smith is the mother of four children. She has a BSc in Psychology and worked for several years in Pharmaceutical Research and Development. Following the birth of her first child, Sarah re-trained as a Paediatric Homeopath, Antenatal Teacher and Birth and Postnatal Doula. She has also undertaken training in Baby Massage, Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. Sarah specialises in gentle parenting methods and is co-founder of the GentleParenting website (www.gentleparenting.co.uk). Sarah writes a parenting blog (www.sarahockwell-smith.com) which is read by 3 million parents per year, and is the author of BabyCalm, ToddlerCalm, The Gentle Sleep Book, The Gentle Parenting Book, The Gentle Discipline Book, The Gentle Potty Training Book, The Gentle Eating Book, The Second Baby Book, The Starting School Book Between: A guide for parents of eight to thirteen-year-olds, How to Be a Calm Parent and Beginnings. She frequently writes for magazines and newspapers, and is often called upon as a parenting expert for national television and radio.