Boys Should Be Boys

I am reading one of the most exciting books I have read in a long time (and not just because most of the books I read only have about 2 words per page and I have a wiggly 2 year old shouting out each word while sitting on my lap!) I am reading "Boys Should Be Boys" by Meg Meeker. Meg Meeker wrote an amazing book about girls, "Strong Fathers Strong Daughters" that was also increadible.

I am having so much fun reading this book because I don't know anything about boys! I grew up with just a sister and my mom grew up with 3 girls in her home so we have always had kind of a "girl family". Nick is actually learning a ton from it too because although he grew up as a little boy he grew up sitting in front of video games pretty much all the time which is one of the main things the book says we need to keep our precious boys away from.

A few generations back boys were encouraged to totally just be boys. Their moms would send them outside right after breakfast to play and they would find other little boys to play with and together they would build treehouses, shoot sling shots, catch frogs, and form their own little groups by taking leadership roles and figuring things out on their own. They would stay outside all day until their moms called them in for dinner.

Today, we can't let our little boys out all day. Our world is too scary. But, Dr. Meeker suggests that what we have started doing is totally harming our son's masculinity. We plug them into electronics to keep them out of our hair. For boys, these electronics can be very addicting and lead to a host of problems in their lives. Other moms choose to hyper schedule their little boys to "keep them busy" so they are put into every activity under the sun. But, neither of these things give boys what they really need. They need to be outside playing. And, they need to be in charge of setting the rules, making up the games, etc. As parents we are so quick to micro-manage our kids games. But, what boys need is the freedom to set their own rules when playing. Grown-ups need to back off and stay away sometimes! So, we as parents need to help nurture these desires and needs in our sons.

That is only a small portion of the book, but I loved it so much because honestly it was kind of brand new information to me! I want to raise a man who loves the Lord and a man of integrity. This book speaks on that in so many ways and I am so glad to have found it. Right after Max was born several people told me to read "Bringing up Boys" by Dr. Dobson. Sorry to you Dr. Dobson fans out there, but the book just left me a little disheartened about raising a boy. This book has helped me to be excited about Max getting older!

Anyway, I am not totally finished with the book (although I got the book yesterday and am almost there!) but I highly reccomend it to anyone with a little boy. Our son's masculinity is at risk in our society and we as mother's need to step up and protect it. And, if you have a daughter I can't say enough about "Strong Fathers Strong Daughters". Even though I am a girl that book changed my life and the way I think about raising girls!

Be blessed today... I am going to go read some more before the kids wake up:-)