'Big Bang Theory' star Mayim Bialik opens up about parenting boys: 'It's been a real exercise in patience'

Mayim Bialik shares her advice on raising boys in her latest book, "Boying Up: How to be Brave, Bold and Brilliant" (2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc.)

Mayim Bialik is smart. In fact, she’s so smart that aside from starring in the hit sitcom “Big Bang Theory,” she’s also a neuroscientist and holds a doctorate from the University of California Los Angeles. Now, she’s sharing her advice on parenting with the masses in a new book that draws from her experiences raising two sons, Miles, 12 and Fredrick, 9.

The 42-year-old, the author of “Girling Up: How to be Strong, Smart and Spectacular,” a New York Times Best Seller tackles the other side in her latest book, “Boying Up: How to be Brave, Bold and Brilliant,” and explained to the Houston Chronicle how she handles being a mom to two boys.

Bialik admitted that being a mother to two boys has been a difficult as she struggled to allow her sons to be more independent.

“I definitely became more aware of how much I was becoming more and more clingy as they pulled away, which is a natural thing for boys to do. It’s been a real exercise in patience and also trusting that they’re not going to go away forever and that this is part of a normal pulling away.”

Bialik told the Chronicle it made sense for her to share her experiences in a book.

“After thinking about it more, and realizing obviously I’m trained as a scientist of both the male and the female body and as a mom of two boys, it was something that obviously I had some experience,” she said.

The actress explained that her books aren’t necessarily about empowering girls or boys or educating their parents, but about how to raise each of the sexes and understand the psychological aspects of both.

“I think being a girl has its own set of pressures, which are very different from those of boys,” Bialik said. “A lot of the mixed messages girls get are more about appearance. ‘You’re perfect just the way you are,’ except that every image in the media indicates that you’re not.

“Whereas with boys, the messages are what kind of emotional processing boys should or shouldn’t do. Are they sensitive but not too sensitive and aggressive but not too aggressive? I think it’s just different,” she added.

The process of raising children is certainly challenging, and there are many guides available to assist in the journey along the way. Bialik isn’t claiming to have all the answers and even admits that her inspiration comes from other texts and well as her experiences with her own children and relying on friends who have older kids who lend a few tips.