The National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington D.C. opened its doors to the public this weekend, and the celebration was glorious. Presidents Obama along with President George W. Bush (who signed the bill authorizing funds to build the museum thirteen years ago) spoke eloquently about the importance of this museum and its place in American history. [...]
If your son is a senior in high school, you know too well that this is the college application season. No doubt, it can be a time fraught with tension as your son negotiates the maze of determining where he wants to go and where he has a shot at getting in, all the while trying to keep up [...]
Just took a look at the list of finalists for the 2016 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, and was delighted to find these books on the list. They are great books to consider for your middle school sons! "Booked" by Kwame Alexander (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt): This novel-in-verse tells the story of 12 year old Nick, a soccer-loving middle [...]
After stepping away from regular GCP blogging for a while to begin work on a parenting book, I am returning to posting regularly--GCP is back! While the posts will still primarily focus on raising boys, many posts already on the site can be helpful for parenting girls as well. A lovely young friend with twins (a boy and a girl) recently told [...]
Our hearts break for the families of Alton Sterling, Philando Castle, the slain and injured Dallas policemen and their families. I used to take solace in thinking that no matter how tough/scary it may seem to parent a black child these days, it can't compare to the unsettling times of 60's and 70's when I was young, with the [...]
Over the years that GCP has been around, we have had to write an alarming number of posts with the same basic message: how do we talk to our sons about unimaginably horrible and senseless killings that they can see footage of over and over on CNN? This time it is Paris. It has been Lebanon, it has been [...]
Unless you have been sleeping under a rock, you know that the musical "Hamilton" is on Broadway, and you should also know that it is one of the most amazing pieces of musical theater ever. Ever. The story of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton brilliantly told through genius writing and composing using a mash up of hip hop and a [...]
As I talked with a good friend recently about our sons and their social lives, he quoted an old saying that rang so true: "Show me his friends and I'll show you his future." Our sons will most certainly have a lot of friends over the course of their childhood and adolescence. But at some point he will develop [...]
Another horrific shooting on another college campus. 10 dead and 7 more injured. The shooter is among the dead, leaving a nation with never-to-be-answered questions as to why. President Obama grimly commented on this most recent tragedy with concern and frustration: "[A]s I said just a few months ago, and I said a few months before that, and I [...]
Hope all of your sons are settling well into the new school year. Here is a GCP Checklist of things to do/keep your eyes on as the year begins: Meet the teachers: There will certainly be an open school night or some other formal opportunity to meet teachers, and you shouldn't miss that. But you should try to meet [...]