Raising a Son: Parents and the Making of a Healthy Man

Rating:
Summary: Helps defines different roles for different times...
Review: As a older mother, I have read just about anything I can get my hands on regarding pregnancy, babies and parenting. I found this book to be very useful in helping me (and my husband) understand what I can do to help my son grow up to be a strong and caring man. For example, it explains when your son will cling to his mother, and when he will seek out a male role model and push his mother away. Understanding that (I hope) will ease some of the stress of that time, and relieve the guilt that could hinder that transition for him.



Rating:
Summary: Buy it after your first sonogram!
Review: As soon as I found out I was pregnant with a boy, I checked this book out of our local library. I found it so easy to read and such a great resource that I had to buy a copy for my own. It offers clear insight to the various stages of a boy's life into manhood. The metaphors for the various types of discipline can get to be a little much but the point is well made. Although I grew up with a younger brother, this book has already given me so much more sensitivity to the needs of a young boy that I look forward to raising my 11-week old son into manhood. I've quoted it incessantly to friends and can't help but shake my head at the parents of unruly teenage boys on talk shows, thinking they should have read the book again and again while their sons were growing up. An invaluable resource for any woman faced with the daunting task of raising a child to be a man, especially if she has never been able to understand men.

Rating:
Summary: Helps to keep things in perspective
Review: I bought this book a few years ago when my first son was on the way, but never got around to reading it until now when he's five with a little brother padding around behind him. It's only now that 'my eldest' is expressing his independence in more sophisticated ways that have my wife and I wondering whether we've got this parenting thing working all right. What I found most helpful in this book is the structure and perspective it provides for raising a son at various stages of his development. One of the hardest things I've found as a parent is deciding just how much to expect from a child. Is my son being clever and manipulative or is he being sincere when he offers up his alibis and excuses? How strict should we be without undermining his self-confidence? In this area, 'Raising a Son' helps by reviewing the major phases in a boy's psychological and physical growth and offering counsel on how parents can help the boy face the challenges of growing up. The book also provides some interesting insight into how our own (parents') childhood carries into our parenting of children. All in all, these sections of the book are concise and rewarding.

The book runs through a section on 'cultural influences', which, if you read behind the over-simplification (and some statements that, for me at least, sounded a bit too much like liberal social mantras), makes some valid points. I disagree that previous societies (hunter-gatherer, agricultural, etc.) were generally better for raising a son in than ours. Nonetheless, in our technological age, we do have to come to grips with changing roles, aspirations, and expectations among men and women and with massive competition for our children's attention from all sorts of media. In dealing with this dilemma, 'Raising a Son' again provides some perspective for gradually strengthening a son's ability to deal with this world (which naturally helps him deal with us when he hits his teens).

One particular note for single parents, divorced couples, or couples with 'problem children', since this book is written by family counselors, it does a very nice job of covering our modern variations on the family. This isn't just a 'how Ozzie and Harriett did it' kind of book. It covers a lot of real world challenges with numerous quotes from single moms, dads, divorcees and other who love their children, but face especially difficult circumstances.

So I recommend 'Raising a Son' as a good introduction and as a book you can turn to as your son grows older. For more detailed information, 'Raising a Son' also provides a helpful bibliography of other sources of information.

Rating:
Summary: very positive and full of wisdom
Review: Taking on a son. It sounds like a battle ground and in fact it is, rather it tends to be. That particular energy that courses through both boys and men has become a social nightmare and maleness is being swept under societies carpet. This energy is frequently erupting into actions of destruction on our streets, in our homes, and in our school yards. We need desperately to give our sons guidence. This book shows a way to raise a boy who will be strong willed, competant, and wholesome. Reading this book shows me why masculinity is misunderstood and the watse of this valuable legacy that is occuring. This remarkable book has shown me the value of my sons, their energy, and rugged beauty. This book can show us all how to accept ourselves, our brothers, husbands, lovers, and most importantly our children. There is nothing cute about the book. It is direct and deals with body, mind, and spirit and i urge you to read it. Now I suppose I shall have to read the other book these guys wrote about raising a daughter. I tell you this parenting stuff never ends. And then there's more!

Rating:
Summary: Something has to be done
Review: The premise of this book is an interesting one. Most men end up being self-absorbed hedonists because they have not been raised correctly, and most importantly, their mothers have not been a strong enough presence in their sons lives.

Boys can be very destructive if they are not kept in line by the women, who will be hurt if they do not stand their ground.

Rating:
Summary: Good, Common-Sense Advice (if you have a NORMAL child)
Review: This book is big on showing understanding and patience to your child, but it doesn't help much with a child who is already having trouble in school and is defiant.

Rating:
Summary: Something has to be done
Review: This is a must for parents of a busy boy. I found the book not only insightful in raising our son, but also in understanding my husband better. I especially liked the fact that it starts at the begining and helps one recognize the role our physical and chemical make up play in our personalities and corresponding actions. It is one of the books I will highly recommend to my friends and family.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST HAVE!
Review: This is a must for parents of a busy boy. I found the book not only insightful in raising our son, but also in understanding my husband better. I especially liked the fact that it starts at the begining and helps one recognize the role our physical and chemical make up play in our personalities and corresponding actions. It is one of the books I will highly recommend to my friends and family.