Raising Boys By Design

What do I know about raising boys? Not much. Since I have two little girls. The only thing I can bring to the table is helping raise my little brother (poor guy – three moms) and taking serious notes on my husband’s mom. Both Ron and Drew are pretty amazing boys turned men.

Are you a boy mom?

I know that this blog is heavy on girl topics and illustrations. However, boy mom or girl mom – we both crave the same thing. We are moms that want to raise kids with hearts that follow Jesus. We don’t just want obedient children – we want strong men and women that have learned how to make wise choices. We want them to experience Christ in a way that it becomes a part of WHO they are not just what they say.
Side note…

I got a tentative date for the release of my book. Eek. Releasing October 7. Tentative. But still. That makes it real.

When I was flipping through my publisher’s site for covers that I liked and didn’t like – I grabbed this one. I loved it.

And, so they ended up sending Raising Boys by Design to me to check it out. I was immediately captured by the sub-title.

Raising Boys by Design: What the Bible and Brain Science Reveal About What Your Son Needs to Thrive

I felt a boy mom should be the reviewer. So, my sweet friend Robyn – mom of two precious young boys read the book.

Here is Robyn’s review:

• Would definitely recommend it to other boy moms
• Appreciated the personal/individual approach. Each chapter includes questions at the end to help you know your son better and apply the rich material.
• Appreciated their use of science and getting to know the design behind her boys – there’s a lot of this in the book if the “why” really interests you.
• Loved the emphasis it put on the role of the father and felt both moms and dads should read together.
• Not in-your-face religious, but has a good amount of scriptual basis for male/female differences.  Also scriptures for encouraging parents and boys themselves who may be experiencing challenging periods of growth/development.
• Not a “quick fix.”  The suggestions involve lots of observation and formulating a plan to help the boys in your life be who they’re designed to be.  In my opinon, that’s exactly as it should be, but might not be what some readers are looking for.  The “next steps” at the end of each chapter seem like excellent jumping-off points to learn more about your son or the boy in your life.
• Best suited for parents of elementary aged boys.  Fine to read if you have preschoolers, but not much action for you to take until they start to develop a little more as they get older.

I particularly like that it is written by two diverse and accomplished authors – Michael Gurian (marriage and family counselor, author of 25 books) and Gregory Jantz (Christian author, speaker and psychologist). More about them here.

A peak at the table of contents.

If you are interested in the book, you can buy it here or where books are sold.

QUESTIONS FOR THE AUTHORS.

I am going to try and set up an interview with them. So, boy moms, fire away! What questions would you ask them if you could about raising boys?