Boys are not great talkers when it comes to serious stuff. Speaking as one myself (let’s face it, most men are just adult boys, right down to the laughing at fart jokes), we are great at deflecting. Avoiding deep questions is our stock in trade.

Add to that a general reluctance in society towards acknowledging specific problems facing boys and men.

Boys are falling behind in education, and men in lower socio-economic groups have been particularly badly hit by reduced incomes and rising job insecurity. As economist Richard Reeves writes in his book Of Boys and Men, these problems are “structural in nature, rather than individual” but they tend to get sidelined in modern debate on gender.

“We can be passionate about women’s rights and compassionate toward vulnerable boys and men,” Reeves points out.

Mother appeals for help to find Irish man (30) missing in New York

Meet the former garda who found a new role in the Church of Ireland after retirement and divorce

‘Let them live in peace’: Protestants and Catholics alike express relief in Drumcree

Bono’s daughter Jordan Joy Hewson on music and growing up in Dublin: ‘No one was expecting a record from me’

So how do we break down defences against discussing men’s issues. How do we conduct necessary conversations with boys about their purpose in life and their ideas of manhood? This is a serious challenge for parents and educators.

For advice, Unthinkable turned to Robert Grant, founder of Hearlisten, which brings the practice of philosophical dialogue to schools and........

© The Irish Times