THE Francis Hewitt Community Centre (FHCC) Men’s Health Team will be running the education session with WDHS, ‘Navigating Teenage Boys’, on November 13, catered towards parents with young boys approaching high school next year.

FHCC male nurses, Stuart Willder and Vinu Sebastian have designed the information session with the aim of discussing challenges with parents of Year 6 (or similar age) boys and what to expect as they become teenagers.

Mr Sebastian has worked in sexual and productively health with adolescents to older male patients and has also demonstrated experience in teaching sexual health at schools in and around Hamilton.

He said session will utilise the knowledge of local male nurses to cover a wide range of topics and help parents navigate these challenges.

“Firstly, we will talk about fostering healthy relations between a son and their parent or carer,” Mr Sebastian said.

“We will also talk about safety in relationships, consent, and also consequences.

“Also, with technology and social media – things have changed, and parents may find their sons are going way past their technology knowledge, so we can help with that.

“It is important to talk about mental health as well as mental health issues, which can come from bullying or relationship breakdowns.

“We will also cover puberty and body changes – not all boys will grow at the same pace, they will catch up at the end, but it can be a confronting situation for that period of time.”

Mr Sebastian said these topics can be very crucial to talk about as it is all about “growing gorgeous boys into good men”. 

 “It’s something we can be happy about and aim for – but not all boys grow into good men,” he said.

“That’s where this topic is really relevant - boys can be influenced by bad people in their life, whether that is friends, family, or society.

“It is important to highlight to parents that teenage years of any boys are the crucial time for that boy to develop mentally, socially and psychologically to a good man in the future.

“If we neglect in that crucial time, it’s hard to correct them later.”

With a focus on the resources available in and around Hamilton, the education session will allow parents to ask questions and be provided with advice to look for early warning signs, identify any issues that might happen, and understand any changes in their sons’ behaviour. 

“We often find that women are well informed … in men’s (health) not everyone talks about it, and we think that we are bulletproof, especially in that age group,” Mr Sebastian said.

“I want to be available to make parents more confident and equipped by the end of it, although we are not pro at all the areas we are talking about, we can at least get them started.

“For all parents, especially a single mum raising a boy it would be a great opportunity because boys are everywhere regardless, and they always look for a role model – it can be anybody in and around his circle and that is what is modelling him for the future.

“These are the ins and outs we wanted to bring into the community.

“We are actually investigating in the future.”

The free education session will be held on Wednesday, November 13 from 7-8.30pm at the Hamilton Base Hospital Education Centre.

There will be light refreshments provided, and all interested in attending have been encouraged to register early at bit.ly/3YouBe0