Raising Real Men

 A MUST READ FOR ALL PARENTS...

I am very excited to be bringing you my first review for Timberdoodle! I was recently accepted as part of their Blogger Review Team, and I am just thrilled to be a part of it!

My first review item is Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young. This 244 page book is a 2011 Book of the Year award winner, and I can see why. 

I will be honest and say that I had a bit of a hard time getting into this book, but after the first few chapters, I was hooked. I love, love, love this book. It is one that I will definitely read over and over again.

I only have one son right now, but he is only 6, so this will be a great resource for years to come.

My son is very manly. He wants to be big so badly. He doesn't even want toys anymore. He wants real stuff. One day when we were cleaning his room he decided to get rid of most of his toys. He got rid of all of his toy tools because he has real ones now. lol

He is very sweet, but very rough and tough. Very boyish. :)

I really appreciate this book because it helps me to understand boys a lot better. 

Hal and Melanie have 6 boys, and 2 girls. They wrote this book based on their own experiences in raising boys. They did a great job of telling their readers what boys need to become real men. 

It is going to be very hard for me not to tell you everything they said in this book, because there is so much that I am excited to share with you. I will try to keep it brief and let you read the rest for yourselves. :)

One of the first things taught is that boys need good role models. Role Models can come in the form of books, movies, and of course family and friends. 

I agree that we need to be very careful of what our children read, watch, and who they hang out with. 

Hal says that boys need to be reading books and watching movies that encourage and show young boys how to be real men. That they need see what this means.

Dad is of course the biggest role model a boy can have. Here is a picture of my son with his daddy. Do you see how he even fixes his hair like his dad? Dad's are a huge influence on their little boys. Luckily for me, my husband is a great father.

"Our sons learn by examples - ours, and those of role models around them. They need heroes to follow, and they will find them one place or another."

"They will have heroes. For their own sakes, make sure they're the right ones."

Hal and Melanie present a biblical way of raising our boys. Boys can be very rowdy, adventuresome, dirty, and tough, and it's OK.

That is how boys are supposed to be. Sometimes we try to train the boy out of them because it is hard for us mothers to deal with some of these things. That is why I am recommending that every mother should read this book.

I think it will help you to understand how God made your little boy, and what he will grow up to be. I think that after you read this book you will be able to handle being the mom of a little boy much better. I don't think you will have as many issues as you may have once had.

Some of the things you will learn in this book are:

How to provide good role models for your boys
How to guide your boys' rowdiness
How to raise leaders
How to teach your boys (they may learn differently from your girls)
How to prevent laziness, and promote helpfulness
How to promote cleanliness
How to raise godly men
How to teach financial responsibility
How to encourage manners and chivalry
How to discipline your boys
How to teach your boys that doing household chores is not only women's work.
How to help your boys handle temptation
How to decide whether or not college is right for your boys
What the Bible says about weapons and force
AND MUCH MORE

I earmarked quite a few pages for me to read over again, and most of them were in the chapter on discipline.  I think my eyes were opened a little bit here as to the importance of discipline.

Here is a paragraph from the book that caught my attention:

"Our sons, too, need to learn obedience. When they are accustomed to respect their parents' instructions and wishes, they are better prepared to respect and obey the Lord. That sounds straightforward enough, but anyone who's tried it knows that disciplining boys is frequently exhausting, often frustrating, and seemingly pointless as you deal with the same issues day after day. Yet we can't ignore it; He who spares the rod hates his son, says the proverb, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly. In fact, if we don't provide our sons with the discipline they need, the Bible says it is as much as disowning them. The Puritan Thomas Brooks said, "God had one son without corruption, but no son without correction" - seeing that even the sinless Christ suffered punishment for His people."

I have read this verse many times, but as my son is growing up it is becoming more apparent how important discipline is. I am seeing how early that independence starts to come out, and how they start to disobey. I don't think it is always that they are disobeying either, but rather their desire to lead comes out early.

I don't expect my kids to be perfect, but I can see how if it gets out of control, that it can become a big problem.

The point of this chapter is to help our sons understand authority while also understanding how to be a leader.

Every chapter in this book has something wonderful to offer.  I have found so much help in this book and I think you will too. I will be reading parts of this book again, if not the whole book.

I highly recommend this book to all parents.

If you are interested in purchasing Raising Real Men, you can find it HERE for only $12.75. But hurry, this is the sale price. The normal price is $15.00.

I honestly don't think you would regret this purchase. Let me know if you purchased this book, and if it helped you as much as it did me. Thanks for sticking with me and this long review! lol

Be sure to check out what my fellow Timberdoodle mommies thought of Raising Real Men. 

Find Timberdoodle on Facebook!

Get a free Timberdoodle catalog here! 

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of Raising Real Men in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation has been given to me.