World-renowned psychologist Steve Biddulph has dedicated his life to helping parents raise their children.

Over the past 30 years, he has spoken to more than 130,000 people worldwide through his talks, has written several books on raising children and changed the lives of many parents. 

Mr Biddulph will be in Launceston on Thursday to present his Raising Boys seminar. 

“Everyone who has boys wants them to grow up to be caring, confident and happy men,” he said. 

“But the male gender has some pretty scary risk factors.  

“A boy is three times more likely to die than a girl, 19 times more likely to go to jail, and twice as likely to use drugs.” 

Mr Biddulph said some of the things that would be discussed at the seminar would be educational outcomes of boys, how to keep them safe, and helping parents understand their roles in raising boys well. 

“Hurry is the enemy of love, and so we have to slow down our lives to raise our boys well - talk to them, read stories to them, not overload them with too much rush or over stimulation,” he said. 

“They have to have lots of chances to move and be outdoors, use their bodies, especially when young.”

In conjunction with his Raising Girls seminar, which was held in Launceston earlier this year, Mr Biddulph has also been using his time to speak about the exploitation of girls.

He has been working hard for several years, through both his books and seminars, to put a stop to this. 

“Teaching teenage boys to respect women and girls is important, and the best source of this is a dad who treats women well, and insists his son does the same,” Mr Biddulph said.

“Paradoxically, rough and tumble play, which most boys love, helps them build self-control and not become bullies or unsafe as adults.

“Dads who play safely but energetically with their boys can show them how to have fun but rein in their energies so no one is hurt.” 

Mr Biddulph will hold his Raising Boys talk at Scotch Oakburn College on Thursday from 7.30 pm.

All profits from the event will go to Oxfam’s Niugini Famine appeal.  

Tickets are $30 per person and are available through trybooking.com.