How do boys learn what it means to be a man? Before the Industrial revolution, in agrarian and hunterer gather societies they could do it by modelling themselves on the men they came in contact with. Their father was the most important role model but not the only one. Uncles, those adult males who were some relation but not part of the boys initial upbringing often play an important part.

It is a sad irony that, for all the sophistication of our society, our boys are developmentally poorer than many third world boys. Many have virtually no contact with adult males in any constructive form. Fathers are either separated and live apart or working so many hours per week that they rarely interact with their sons in a meaningful fashion. Teachers in school are almost exclusively female. The only role models boys have are older boys who are not yet mature themselves or TV/Film actors whose characters portray disfunctional and unrealistic models of behaviour.

This is a recipe for building adult boys not well balanced men. Go to the footy on a Saturday, you can find ample examples. A group of men in Byron Bay, Australia, amongst others, has recognised the problem and are fulfulling their obligation to society in a way that so many of us are not. The organisation "Uncle" is a loose group of men who are volunteering some of their time to spent with boys who would otherwise not have any adult males in their lives. This is a good news story for the boys involved. Australia needs more caring men of their calibre, as do many other urbanised societies.

Visit their web site here.