I was sitting in the doctor's waiting room some time ago, where another patient was chatting with the receptionist about their children. Both ladies had sons around the age of 19 or 20.

"We're over the moon because our son has just moved out of home," one of them commented. "We don't know ourselves."

"Congratulations," said the other.  "I wish you'd give me some tips on how to get rid of mine. He shows no signs of moving."

Now, I was used to hearing this sort of talk. My own mum used to discuss my brother like this. Many people did, but sitting in that waiting room, it suddenly hit me that our culture tends to give boys a bum-rap. I don't know whether it's a post-feminist culture hangover. I'd be first to agree that women's liberation was one of the best moves of the 20th century, but I hate to think that the pendulum has moved too far back in the opposite direction.

Think about it. In ancient Jewish culture, sons were a sign of tremendous favour to a family. A man with a quiver full of sons was called blessed. They were a sign of his strength and potential for the future. And Jewish boys are still acknowledged as valuable and given Bar Mitzpah services to mark their entry into manhood. Similarly, many tribal ceremonies have marked the passage from boy to man for centuries. Despite the gore and pain of some of these, the symbolism behind it is valuable and good. They all acknowledge the value of men and the noble, romantic, adventurous, capable spirits God has put into them.

Now what do we do? (I'm talking broadly here). We have sarcastic digs at our boys for leaving the toilet seat up. We complain about their rough tendencies yet keep buying them violent Play Station and X-Box games to keep them out of our hair. And teachers who are told that there'll be a certain number of boys in their classrooms roll their eyes and groan. I'm the first to enjoy a good joke, sometimes at the male expense, but it struck me that day that there might be something slightly sick in a society that treats boys like nuisances instead of one of our finest resources.

They are our next generation of statesmen, surgeons, politicians, entrepreneurs and most importantly, fathers, so it only makes sense to treat them well. You might be thinking that sitting for ages and ages in that waiting room made me overly philosophical over a simple conversation, but I left feeling as if I had a bit of an eye-opener. The easiest place to contribute to social reform is in our own homes so I made a decision to remember to treat my two sons with as much sensitivity as I treat their sister. Those of us with boys can attest that they do have sensitive hearts that need to be nurtured.

Logan's 12th birthday is a few weeks away and I'd like to think of some special way to mark the occasion to acknowledge his passage into young manhood but as yet, I've thought of nothing. Bringing up boys is a noble challenge but there are many rewards along the way. Not long ago, I told Blake that he was a good boy and he gave his cute little grin and said, "Mummy is a good boy too." Now, that's a pretty good compliment, don't you think?