Boys want to cry their heart out!

A survey carried out on 422 boys in the age-group of 5-18 by the 'Kids Help Line' has revealed that boys want to cry and they do cry but they find it much harder to talk about their feelings.

A survey carried out on 422 boys in the age-group of 5-18 by the 'Kids Help Line' has revealed that boys want to cry and they do cry but they find it much harder than girls to talk about their feelings or seek help when they are distressed.

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The capacity of boys to express emotions is very different from that of girls, from the age of 10 or 11, with many retreating into grunting, monosyllabic speech, and research has indicated that the more time boys spend in the company of their fathers, the less emotionally expressive they become.

The survey also showed that almost half of those interviewed never or very rarely talked about their feelings or concerns. Yet more than 40 per cent of the inexpressive boys said that they yearned to talk more about such things.

"These boys are somehow being silenced," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Ian Thomas, a senior research officer with a non-government child welfare service, which undertook the study, as saying.

The study threw light on the fact that most boys cry at some time about something-physical hurt, relationship problems, teasing and bullying, and the death of a loved one or pet being the main causes, though 10 per cent said nothing made them cry.

However, 47 per cent said that they never talked about their feelings, citing barriers such as fear of embarrassment, people's reactions, concern about being overwhelmed by their emotions, lack of opportunity, and a desire to keep things to themselves.

"The perception boys don't cry is wrong; of course they do. Our counsellors talk to young men every day who experience pain and great emotional upset. And the boys most likely to cry or get angry when upset are the the boys who can't talk about their feelings," explained Thomas.