What the world needs now is strong girls—and kind boys.

Have you noticed that the world is awash in discussions, resources, movements and stories dedicated to showing young girls that they, too, can be strong? And that they don't have to give up fun, friendship and fashion in the process? Girls are learning that they have permission to shape their girlhood in a way that is true to them, mixing a rainbow of traits from the traditionally feminine to the fiercely "alpha".

As the mother of a feisty little girl, this growing movement makes my heart swell with hope. But when I look across to her twin brother, my heart tightens. Because although the world has long been awash in stories about boys and their mighty deeds, these stories are pretty monochrome. Boys fight, lead, rescue, compete, triumph. As they defeat enemies and smash through setbacks, they make noise and mess and maybe tread on a few sensibilities. They face fear, and swallow it down. They man up. We go behind them, rolling our eyes and cleaning up: Boys will be boys, we say. Can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.

But what if you're a boy who doesn't like messes? What if you don't like competing? What if you are a kid who loves babies, or musicals, or tidying up? Who doesn't want to fight even if you would win? Who gets uncomfortable when conflict arises? Who cries at the end of Disney films? Who wants to grow flowers, not climb trees? Who plays fantasy not football? Who actually hates getting muddy? Who is not so much lord-of-the-flies as wouldn't-hurt-a-fly?

The truth is, as a society—and as parents—we do not create much space for naturally kind boys to explore and define boyhood for themselves. And that's because we know that as they grow, they will have to slot into a very, very narrow definition of manhood...or suffer the consequences.

If we are no longer ok with constraining girls this way, so why are we ok with constraining boys? How many beautiful souls do we bind, how many talents do we lose? What might the world stand to gain if we could unleash the full spectrum of joyful boyhood? What new and transformative models of leadership, sportsmanship, craftsmanship, fellowship could we create? Most importantly, how to begin? That is the conversation I want to start here.

This is not about shaping boys (or men) in women's image. This is not about emasculation. It is not about asking boys who are happily and authentically living big, physical, totally "boyish" lives to pretend to be something else. It's about creating the space for every boy to live that authentically, no matter what they love and who they are. It's about celebrating big muscles, big achievements, big imaginations and big hearts equally.

So, this is the beginning of the conversation. We are not alone: More and more men are having the discussion about the 'man box' society forces them to live in (check out The Good Men Project, Remaking Manhood, ManKind Project and more, to see what they are saying). What I want to do here is engage parents, and especially those parents of boys whose sweet nature is a source of constant joy and worry. Because as the parent of a kind boy and a strong girl myself, I know that before there is a 'man box' there is a 'boy box'. Let's talk about it, and - with hope - we can make some more room in there together.

What are your thoughts and observations on how we bring up our sweet-natured boys, and how this affects them?