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Award-winning health teacher shares why ‘purpose’ is key in raising boys to be successful men

Teens and young men need to feel they are contributing to the world.

via Christopher Pepper (used with permission) and Canva/Photos

Educator Christopher Pepper and scouts with a map.

Over the past decade or so, there has been a significant cultural push towards opening opportunities for girls to excel in traditionally male-dominated fields, such as STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and math. However, many feel that while we all looked to empower girls, boys fell by the wayside. Today's boys are growing up in a world where there is a lot of confusion surrounding masculinity, and they are slipping in both academics and social skills.

What can parents do to counter this decline and help their boys grow into productive, happy, and healthy men? Christopher Pepper, an award-winning health teacher, father of two boys, and co-author of the recently released Talk To Your Boys: 16 Conversations to Help Tweens and Teens Grow into Confident, Caring Young Men, says we can begin by giving them a sense of purpose.

How to give boys a sense of purpose

“I think the idea of purpose is really smart to bring up. That is something that we've seen really helps teenagers just have a concept of where their life is going, having a sense of contributing to the world,” Pepper told an audience at the 2025 Aspen Ideas: Health festival.

- YouTube youtu.be

Lisa Damour, a psychologist who specializes in adolescent development and host of the Ask Lisa podcast, added that this sense of purpose doesn't have to be "curing cancer." It can be as simple as setting the table or taking care of the dog. “That these much more attainable and frankly child-sized things can do the work of purpose until they are ready to think about the grand contributions they'll make to the world,” Damour said.

Pepper adds that boys who build a sense of purpose in their tween and teen years are likely to carry it with them into adulthood. Studies show that a sense of purpose in life can help prevent anxiety and depression in adolescents as well as adult males.

Finding meaning in a career

“I think we can do a lot with boys in particular to encourage them to move into caring roles like taking care of the dog, but being a camp counselor. Doing things where you're a mentor for a younger kid,” Pepper said. “And overall, I would love to see us encouraging more boys and men to go into caring professions. Think about being a teacher. Think about being a therapist. Think about going into medical care. To really see a push around that career option and say that can be your purpose. It can be a way that you contribute to the world, make a decent living, and have a satisfying life.”

Pepper believes that it's parents and mentors' jobs to help boys consider purposeful careers that may not have been on their radar. There are many fields where men are in demand, but they just aren’t pursuing them. “Sometimes boys don't want to go into those [careers] because they're worried, 'What will people think of me?' Or they just don't see that that's a place for them,” Pepper told Upworthy. “So it's a little bit of breaking barriers, like making sure that we can say this is a place for you. It really helps to have men in those roles who can do some recruiting. We've actually seen a decline in the number of male teachers in classrooms.”

Instilling a sense of purpose in boys and young men can open up their world to greater possibilities and provide a sense of happiness and satisfaction that is hard for many to come by these days. In an era where many traditional institutions have fallen by the wayside and people are suffering through a crisis of meaning, a career path with a sense of purpose could mean the difference between falling through the cracks or thriving.

Modern Families

A millennial was annoyed that boomer parents hoard food. But there's a deeper reason for it.

"My grandfather felt that if he saw the fridge fully stocked, everything else in life would fall into place."

Image via Canva/alicat, Wavebreakmedia

Millennial calls out boomers for hoarding food.

Millennials and their boomer parents don't see eye to eye on many things. As one millennial pointed out, that includes their food shopping habits.

A frustrated millennial posed a question on Reddit to fellow millennials: "Why does our parents generation feel the need to keep so much food in the house?" They went on to rant about whenever their boomer parents stay with them, their fridge is overstuffed with food.

"They buy so much food that we literally run out of room and our countertops end up lined with a bunch of junk," they wrote. "I’m talking like multiple types of bread, endless amounts of snacks, enough meat to fuel the an army, 12 different kinds of drinks…I mean even staple things like butter, salt, condiments. It’s pure insanity."

groceries, grocery haul, full grocery cart, food shopping, buying food Grocery Store Halloween GIF by Laff Giphy

After expecting to be met with similar gripes, many millennials instead expressed a more tender understanding for their parents' full pantries. "THEIR parents lived through the great depression and/or WWII rationing," one commented. Another added, "Yep they all have the reverse of scarcity trauma, call it abundance disorder lol."

Many millennials could see the connection between their boomer parents being raised by Silent Generation (born between 1928-1945) parents. "My grandfather felt that if he saw the fridge fully stocked, everything else in life would fall into place," one millennial commented.

Hunger was rampant during the Great Depression. According to the Library of Congress, one in four people were unemployed by 1932, and hunger and malnutrition were widespread. And during World War II, rationing became law and part of the effort on the home front to support the United States. According to the National Park Service, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of Price Administration (OPA) under Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. It was the beginning of rationing, and Americans began receiving ration cards in May 1942.

rations, rationing, world war II, wwII, world war 2 rations Rations during World War II.Image via Wikipedia/U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Another millennial pointedly shared, "That’s because you’ve never known what farming/harvesting takes or what going hungry feels like. We are a blessed generation for even having this conversation. Probably the first in tens or thousands of years of our existence."

Other millennials tied together the cultural reasons why their boomer parents shop and store food like this. "And, when they were growing up there were still things like Blue Laws on Sundays, stores didn’t open on many holidays, and more limited grocery store hours," another shared. "Even in the early 90s, 9 p.m. was a fairly common closing time for full-service grocery stores."

fridge, full fridge, food security, food scarcity, food Hungry Food GIF by Kawan Foods Giphy

Some millennials owned up to hoarding and overstocking their pantries, too.

"I'm a millennial and this is why I have a deep freezer and enough pantry items to make multiple meals," one wrote. "I'm sure part of it is learned behavior from my mom who, in turn, learned it from her parents whose formative years were The Great Depression." Another added, "Add in a bit of borderline poverty and food insecurity growing up yourself on top of their trauma, and you’re left taking pride in a pantry full of non perishables."

The discussion among millennials also focused on better understanding the generations that came before them.

"Some people’s response was to be hyper aware of waste and make things stretch as far as possible," one wrote. "Some people’s response was to panic if there’s spaces in the food storage because it might mean it’s running out. Trauma impacts different people differently." Another concluded, "Man, generational trauma is real."

Images via Canva/Photodjo, Andy Dean Photography

Millennials are frustrated with their Boomers parents about real estate.

Millennials trying to buy homes in today's economy are up against a rock and a hard place. Unlike for their Boomer parents, the dream of buying a home continues to feel further away.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Millennials "continue to be fenced out of home ownership." The organization reported that in 2024, the average age of first time home ownership rose to 38 years old, up from 35 years-old just the year before. "First-time buyers face high home prices, high mortgage interest rates and limited inventory, making them a decade older with significantly higher incomes than previous generations of buyers," Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said in a November 2024 press release.

Millennials are airing their frustrations amongst each other in the Reddit thread r/Millennials, sharing their stories and experiences with their Boomer parents—with many calling Boomers "out of touch."

@thejennifink

The disconnect with reality is real but I can’t stop bringing it up. #housingmarket #zillow #realestate #boomers #millennials #millennialsoftiktok #home

One Millennial wrote, "This topic is like hitting a dead horse, but I just needed to rant. Back story, I work out at a gym with people who are our parents age, and of the boomer generation. I overheard them saying, 'we bought our first home for $65,000. I’m sure kids these days are only paying $125,000 for that same house'. When they said that, I burst out laughing. How are they so out of touch? It drives me nuts."

Another Millennial replied, "Willful ignorance. Takes four seconds to go on Zillow and find out that’s bullsh*t 😆."

And another shared, "I'm not kidding... when I showed my dad actual data on itemized COL inflation, he said that 'the data just says that but that doesn't mean it's real'.... This is a guy that I would normally consider smart and with it. When it comes to these kinds of topics of societal degradation, he can't accept it. He is willfully ignorant to things being worse now for me than they were for him at my age."

@mel_owens

& invent a time machine. #boomer #homeowner #housingmarket #homebuying #comedy

Others explained how they attempted to explain to their Boomer parents how expensive homes currently are. Another shared, "Last Christmas, the sibs and I collectively managed to remember all the addresses we had lived in in our childhoods and Zillowed all of them to show our parents. All are still standing. All were built in the 70s. All are rural or suburban/small towns. Parents were astounded at what these 50+ year houses are going for today, especially compared to what they paid for them 30-40 years ago."

Millennials added their conversations with parents who got defensive. One wrote, "I legit just had this same conversation! They say 'complain when it’s 14% interest' excuse me, your house was 60k and dad was making 40, don’t piss on me and tell me it’s raining. That fancy 250k house is now like 600k…get a grip, average house is 438k."

Another shared, "My dad still gives me a hard time about renting, constantly tells me how I should invest in a house. I sat him down one day and opened up a mortgage calculator, showed him how with the current interest rates it just wasn't gonna happen- he seemed to get it. For a little bit anyways haha. I saw him last month and he told me again how rent is wasted money yadda yadda."

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How Millennials can have conducive home ownership talks with Boomer parents

Millennials can have healthy and productive conversations with their Boomer parents when discussions about buying a home become tense or uncomfortable, Aly Bullock, LMFT, a licensed marriage and family therapist with Paired, tells Upworthy.

Here are three things Millennials can say to their parents during these tough talks:

Phrase #1: "I understand that we have different views on this, and that's okay with me."

Bullock explains, "This acknowledges that you understand their POV and you are still willing to stick with your own opinion. It is a very gentle way of setting a boundary and letting them know you are comfortable having different opinions."

Phrase #2: "I would love to hear you out, and my request is that in return you respect my right to make a personal decision even if it does not align with what you've shared."

"Even when their kids are grown, parents still love the chance to influence their children," says Bullock. "This phrase lets your parents know that you would love to hear their opinion, you welcome it, AND reminds them gently that you are grown and they should offer you similar respect."

Phrase #3: "This conversation seems to keep causing tension between us, and I'd rather focus on something we have in common right now. Can we set it aside for a bit?"

According to Bullock, "This acknowledges the tension without placing blame. It gives the adult child an opportunity to stop the conversation before it deteriorates further, while emphasizing the positive pieces of the relationship."

Finally, she notes that it may take placing boundaries around these conversations. "Remember that you don't have to tell your parents everything. Some things are better left unsaid," says Bullock. "The truth is that parents change as they age and may or may not be able to cope well with generational differences or unmet expectations. Try to have compassion for them as you decide which things to keep to yourself in order to protect your own mental health."

via @5kids5catssomedogstoo/TikTok

Lynalice Bandy shares what her home looks like after working six 10-hour days and getting no help from her husband.

Household inequity is getting better in some households. In others, it's completely out of control. A viral TikTok video highlights an extreme version of inequality that many wives and mothers in heterosexual relationships face. However, the mom in this story hit her limit and won’t deal with it anymore. Lynalice Bandy, who goes by @5kids5catssomedogstoo on TikTok, posted a video that showed her home looking like a disaster after she worked six 10-hour days straight while her husband did nothing to help.

Her time-lapse video shows every room in the house completely trashed, with toys, food, and laundry scattered everywhere. "Shampoo on the carpets in the girls' room, nail polish all over nugget covers, hair, and carpet. Scissors were used to cut hair, the down comforter, the mattress cover, and two nugget covers," wrote the mom. “I’ve worked six, ten-hour days in a row with only one day off being a sick day,” she captioned the video. “I’d like to pretend I’m not the only person who cleans here, but as you can see…These rooms don’t get much attention when I’m not here."


@5kids2catsandsomechaos

#divorce #parentingfail #messyhouse #whenwomen #depressionanxiety #clean #satifying

She says her husband’s excuse was that he was focused on doing his schoolwork and couldn’t pay attention to the kids. "Now, that school is out for a break, he doesn't have that excuse anymore," Bandy says, noting that all of his attention has been focused on “the four vehicles in our driveway that he wants to work on continuously.”

In a follow-up video, Bandy announced that she left her husband after the debacle.

The original video received over 17,000 comments, many of which were from supportive women. "You deserve much better, and he deserves to be alone. Much love to you from someone that left that life behind almost 20 yrs ago. You'll get here, too," Angela LaRoche wrote.

"Ma’am, you are nothing short of amazing! Hang in there!" Japanese with Jenny wrote. "That home is beautiful because of YOU," Hillary added. "You put in so much work, and it is not unseen by me and so many others. But, you DO deserve better. Proud of you."

@5kids2catsandsomechaos

Sounds about right…

Even though Bandy’s experience with her husband is an extreme case of a couple whose domestic duties are way out of balance, it points to a problem that plagues many households. Even though it’s 2025 and families are becoming more equal, women still do significantly more housework than men.

A study utilizing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey found that women 15 years and older spend 5.7 hours daily doing housework and looking after kids and elders. Men in the same age group do an average of 3.6 hours of daily domestic work. That’s a 37% difference in time spent on household responsibilities.

 domestic duties, marriage inequality, lazy husbands, messy houses, household chores, upset woman, tired woman A woman who is upset that she has to do chores again.via Canva/Photos

Further, women who work an average of 35 hours a week spend 4.9 hours a day on household chores and child care, while men who work the same amount spend an average of 3.8 hours.

The comments show that many women are frustrated with their husbands for not doing their fair share. Hopefully, this video will encourage more people to speak out about domestic inequality and for more men to step up and do their part.

Nearly two years after Lynalice left her husband, she and her five children are living together in a new home. Her recent videos show that she's having difficulty keeping it clean because she's been working 60-plus hours a week and suffers from ADHD. Being the single mother of five has to be tough, so she has developed a new motto: "Progress, not perfection." In November 2024, she shared a video of her and her family getting things together in their new home.

@5kids2catsandsomechaos

Can you spot how many times Winky sits in a box or plops for belly rubs? #cleaning #messyhouse #clean #timelapse #oddlysatisfying #grwm #carpetcleaning #cattok

This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.