Tamworth Family Support Service and author Steve Biddulph host 'Raising Boys' seminar

Hosted by Tamworth Family Support Service (TFSS) the 'Raising Boys' seminar provided parents and educators with the chance to hear from renowned author, activist, and psychologist Steve Biddulph.

TFSS youth homelessness services manager Annette Pascoe said by holding the event online they were able to reach a much wider audience.

"Parents have to earn an income, so taking a day off work to go and do something like this can be a challenge for families," Ms Pascoe said.

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"The stigma attached to sitting in a parenting class is 'I'm not a good parent', so this is a way you can tip toe in and still be in a parenting class without being in a parenting class."

More than 2200 parents registered for the event, which discussed the hormonal, psychological and emotional needs of young men.

TFSS child youth and family manager, Julie Green, said she often had parents come to her asking why their boys were acting out.

"This seminar was like a lightbulb moment for them, now they understand why their boys are messing up and how to handle that," Ms Green said.

"It was about understanding the difference of how we bring up boys and how we bring up girls."

As a parent of four young boys, Sarah Smith jumped at the opportunity to hear from Steve Biddulph.

"He's a parent of boys and I prefer to take advice from those who don't just have textbook experience but actually know what it's like to have boys," Ms Smith said.

As organisers had hoped, Ms Smith said the ability to watch the talk online was a huge relief.

"I liked the opportunity to sit at home after I'd put my kids to bed, it was convenient to watch from home."

Ms Smith said she found it reassuring to hear things she had struggled with, were also felt by other parents.

But she said the thing that had stuck with her the most, was learning that suicide was one of the leading causes of death for men.

"That was quite alarming for me," she said.

"Behaviour is learnt so we can teach them good behaviours too.

"We need to be teaching boys when they're boys how to express emotions and sit with that."

Ms Smith said, after listening to the talk, she had recommended the seminar to all of her friends with sons.

Due to the popularity of the event, TFSS is looking to potentially hold another online seminar with Steve Biddulph in the future.

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