Bringing Up Boys: Practical Advice And Encouragement For Those Shaping The Next Generation Of Men

I heard about this book from someone from my church. I am enjoying it so far and it was in great condition.

It’s full of very helpful instructions.

Good book have read before. Recommended reading.

While I'm not religious and have some liberal values, I also maintain many of the conservative values of my Christian upbringing, and enjoyed much of this book's philosophy and practical advise. For the audience for whom it's intended (Christian parents), I believe that it would be even more appreciated. The book is heavier on philosophy/spirituality (written in an entertaining, engaging manner with tons of fun stories and examples) and lighter on specific advise, but it's still very valuable.It's a little overwhelming thinking of all of the forces that Dobson encourages us to protect our kids from, and he doesn't mention the resiliency that some kids and adults fortunately possess to overcome many of those negative influences, but at least strongly attempting to protect them should be our starting point. So this is an overwhelming book at times, emotionally, though the author's very positive tone certainly helps with that. But, you have to start with reality, and I appreciate this reality-check.A point of contention: Dobson also strongly suggests that your kids will do as you do, following in your footsteps, for better or for worse, and while that's statistically more likely than not, I know so many more people who behave very differently from their parents (again, for better or for worse), so I'm surprised that he didn't mention that more often. My poor parents put 1000% effort into raising Christian kids, and not one of the four of us is a Christian anymore. However, we do have some (but not others) of their values. And I have so many friends who grew up in pretty awful families (several with borderline/narcissistic divorced mothers, or a alcoholic/neglectful mother, or emotional and sexual abuse), that have completely different personalities and relationships themselves, fortunately. So as important as it is to model good behavior, I was surprised that Dobson said several times that your kids will do exactly as you do. They're more likely to, but it's not a guarantee, either for the positive or the negative.Dobson's point that boys are different than girls, and exactly why that is biologically, as well as his history of when the idea developed that there are no differences amongst the sexes (except cultural influences), and when it was disproven by science, is really really interesting, as well as his observation that the idea still remains in part in our culture. I appreciated his reminder to love boys for who they are and counter this ridiculous thought in some of our society that boys need to be just like girls, that their traits are inherently inferior to the tendencies of girls. On one hand, I do think that this gender neutrality theory has been most helpful for kids that don't fit the gender stereotypes; the 10-20% of boys, for example, that are not rough and tumble, don't like sports, are as easily prone or more prone to tears than their sisters. It's also probably helped to at least try to put extra attention to encouraging boys to become more sensitive (since, as Dobson points out and I'd learned in school, the fewer connections between the two hemispheres of the brain and the increased testosterone suggests that this could be a weaker point). I think that's a great idea in a world that is increasingly able to promote attention to mental health (not saying we've gotten it right, but that we have more free time to focus on it than in any other time in history). BUT I am very saddened by our culture's disdain of men - as if we had to jump straight from one victim to another - so that when we stopped considering women the lesser sex, someone else had to fill that void. This is ridiculous and unfair, and I've been very frustrated for the last few years about the double standard concerning the criticism of men vs. women. If it's not okay to put down women for being women, then it shouldn't be okay to put down men for being men. This seems so basic and obvious to me that I'm shocked at how many intelligent, well-educated people commit this double-standard every day. Dobson points out how common it is in the media to have male characters, especially older ones the age of a father/husband IMO, be complete fools (the Simpson's came to mind), while women are rarely depicted that way anymore. Why do we have to go from one unfairly put-down group to another? And if it's okay to talk about what makes girls and women unique and amazing, why can't we talk about what makes boys and men unique and amazing?I guess this is more of a cultural reflection than a book review, but really that's what this book is about - it's mostly a book of ideas to get you thinking about the psychology and philosophy of raising boys. The practical advise is less, but it's in there - one of the big ones being that we have to set clear guidelines with boys and guide them/train them to become civilized, not just expect this to happen on its own. My other favorite piece of advise is that nurturing a very close, loving relationship with your sons is the best antidote to all of the societal craziness, that it's what will make them most likely to follow your protective guidance in spite of the heavy influences to the contrary around them. As I face the challenge of raising a son (mine's still growing inside me!), I sure hope that I'm up to the task!

So far it's been just what I was hoping for. Can't wait to finish.

As a parent of 3 boys this book was a life saver. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has boys!

I agree this should be a standard for any parent of a boy. Great information and teaches perspective- especially helpful if you dont have any brothers!

While this book is not a great 'how-to' of daily life with boys and it has too many facts and figures for my taste, it is an excellent book to come back to again and again. It has such great reminders of the overarching principles in parenting and specifically boys. It covers all ages and is a refreshing and re-focusing read every few years.