Excellent book, as a mom of two boys this book provides a lot of amazing insights. It was a very enjoyable read and the author really shares a lot of her personal experience and is so relatable.

I’m unfamiliar with the author’s blog, but I was intrigued by the blurb of this book and was thrilled to receive an ARC through NetGalley.

Swanson espouses a traditional, common sense viewpoint and backs up her thoughts with excellent sources. She is never preachy, yet she is not afraid to say some “tough love” statements.

The main thesis of the book is to be intentional in your parenting choices, understand the consequences of what you are or are not doing, and never be afraid to be a parent who seems to be swimming upstream against how most other parents are parenting.

I found some chapters more beneficial to me personally than others. I imagine the chapter on privacy and social media will be the most helpful to readers. I have SO MANY bookmarks and highlights from reading this book and a big list of other books to read next that were cited here.

Kudos to the author for including a list of books to read aloud with our sons, broken down by age, as well as the Boy Mom Manifesto at the end that summarizes each chapter.

For Christian mothers raising boys, this one needs to be on your shelf.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book. It did not affect my review.

This was a good book. I found that it didn't really fit where I am with my boys. I did appreciate the wisdom of the author and all the great ideas for raising boys, I just didn't find it readily applicable to my situation with my boys. Maybe it is their age and the special needs of my kids. I would recommend this book to my friends who are raising boys, though anyone working with boys could benefit from this. The writing was good, and I found it worth my time. I doubt I will return to it however.

I received a copy of this book to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own. I was not required to leave a positive review.

Popular blogger, Monica Swanson, knew she struck a nerve when her blog post entitled "What a Teenage Boy Needs Most From His Mom" garnered a HUGE response. Moms everywhere were hungering to know how they could connect with their teenage sons. At an age where boys are pulling away from us, it can be easy to throw our hands up in frustration and hope they come back eventually. But Swanson encourages her readers that teenage boys need their moms just as much now as they did when they were younger.

Boy Mom is filled with practical advice on a multitude of topics including:

Grounding Our Boys in the Faith
Affirming Their Identity
Teaching Discipline with Technology
Physical Health
Emotional Health
and more!

I appreciated that Swanson wrote this book with a combination of research and personal experience. She struck a good balance between the two: backing up her statements with both updated statistics as well as the personal experience that can only come from raising four boys. All with the reminder to parent intentionally and with vision. This is the type of mom that I would love to sit down with and have a face to face conversation. And Boy Mom is the next best thing. The author speaks with such wisdom and honesty that I came away from this book feeling encouraged and empowered to raise my own two sons. And actually looking forward to those teenage years.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

As a mom to a seven year old boy, this book was the perfect read for me. I’ve read a few parenting books written by child psychologist, but if I were to recommend just ONE book to a friend, it would be this one. It’s easy to read, humorous, honest and relatable (despite us not being a church-going family). Even if you already have a teenage boy in your house, read the book anyway, there’s plenty of advice about raising teenagers. I will definitely be re-reading this book in a few years. Best takeaway advice: parent your son with the vision of who you want him to be as a man.

This book was a true blessing to me in my journey, and really deserves more stars than I am able to give it. Monica Swanson writes with humor and honesty without sacrificing the true gritty content that moms of boys need to hear. I felt like I was sitting in a coffee shop with a mentor rather than reading something written by a stranger a continent away. One of my biggest struggles in my first years as a "boy mom" was a lack of support for my decidedly conservative morals/views/policies with and about my children. Our relatives and acquaintances called me "old-school" and told me my children would turn out "weird". Well if being "weird" is being a gentleman, or being a little less scarred by the world and a little more prepared for it, I'm all for it. I think Monica Swanson would agree. She equips moms for the messy, sometimes brutal, walk that is boy-momhood. From personal hygiene and "the talk" to friends and sleepovers, she addresses it all. There will even be printable resources provided for the reader; quick references to some of the pieces Swanson believes are most vital to raising little gentlemen (at the time of this review, those resources were not yet available online, but as they are in the book, they're FANTASTIC).

Whole paragraphs and entire lists from this book have made it into my journal. Monica has truly given me new perspective and hope that raising strong, clean, loving, Christian boys is still a possibility in this dark world. Thanks so much, Monica, for being the voice of the friend I haven't found yet. God bless.

I’m a boy mom and this was a perfect read for me. So many helpful tips and questions answered for a mom with boys. Beautiful book.

Thank you for a great read, I have two sons and I really enjoyed this. It was very helpful and also encouraging.

A child psychologist tells the author that her son is just a boy being a boy, even though his behaviors are super challenging to her. As a boy mom, I can surely relate! As moms, the author explains that we need to show love, trust, respect, grace, But we also need to have boundaries/discipline and healthy freedoms . We need to nurture their faith, affirm them, and teach them good character traits. We have to be away of role models, technology, etc. We really need to inspire their minds too, as well as modeling other life skills and teaching them. This author shares a lot of insights and examples. As a “young boy” mom, I loved my first read and plan to come back for refreshers as my son grows up. I think the Boy Mom Manifesto at the back, as well as some other lists will help me in those goals.



(Will post reviews on Goodreads and Amazon once this book is released.)

This quote is the cornerstone of this book “But love alone will not be enough. To develop a healthy and lasting relationship with your son, you need to nurture an environment of mutual trust and respect. Above all these things, there must be an abundance of grace. Though we’ll never get it perfect, being intentional about these four relational qualities—love, trust, respect, and grace—will provide a solid foundation for your son’s future.”
The author shows you how you can simply teach these traits to your boy(s) in the book by sharing her own life experiences and how her own 4 very different boys reacted to her as a parent. Her sons had challenges such as being very active and hard to control, along with being easier to live with as they were quiet and more able to entertain themselves.
She spoke about cherishing the firsts and lasts in their lives, and how the boys initiated when they were too old to hold hands or other types of behaviors with their mom.
At the end of the first chapter there are thoughtful questions to help you in improving your relationship with your son and a list of 20 ways to make your son feel loved that include listening, scratch his back, surprise him with something unexpected, laugh at his jokes and speak words of confidence about his future.
Boys need boundaries to follow until they can internalize their own boundaries and control their own feelings, instincts and impulses.
You will enjoy learning about your son and you will feel more confident raising him in each stage of life after reading this book - I only wish I had this book when raising my own son!

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this book was helpful and admired the authors ability to share her personal experience as a mom of three boys both the triumphs and the failures. I especially liked her use of allowing her boys to "appeal" their punishments allowing them the opportunity to be heard. She also incorporates biblical teachings as ways to reinforce kindness, manners and discipline. She also shares research and ideas written by experts enriching her experiences. Enjoyed it.