Raising Boys

Coming of Age Ceremonies 3. What Would You Say To A Young New Adult?
In our family, we believe it's helpful to set a particular time in a young man's life to begin transitioning him to adult roles. We talked about our reasons here, and explained who we involve in that formal time of recognition, here.    We want to impress on the young man that these new expectations…
Coming of Age: The Value of Ceremony
People often ask if we'd describe what we do for a coming-of-age ceremony with our boys. Surely with six boys we've done something of the sort … and the answer would be, “Yes, indeed!” You've probably heard of the Jewish “Bar Mitzvah” tradition – where a Jewish boy is officially welcomed to adult status in…
Hey Mom! Watch This!
Young men have a tremendous desire to try their strength and to be tested in return. This is integral to their competitive nature, but let's take a look at how it impacts their interaction with the real world, not the contrived world of competitions. Adults sometimes equate a desire for adventure with immaturity and recklessness.…
Why You Ought To Persevere
  Are you homeschooling? If so, you've discovered that things are seldom as easy as you supposed. All of us at one time or another have looked at the yellow buses going by and thought, “Well, there’s always that …” But here are some things which help us keep on course when the headwinds pick…
Keeping An Eye on Competitive Sports
Over the years, our six boys tried basketball, soccer, baseball, and finally football – which is where most of them settled in. Along the way we learned a few things that make a big difference in the experience for your kids and for the whole family. First, understand sports and competition are not un-Christian! Paul…
How do I talk to my children about these things?
Here's what I struggle with: How do I prepare my young boys in case they are exposed to porn without destroying their innocence?  It is a struggle at young ages, but it’s so important. A mom recently told us she discovered her 8 or 9 year old was getting up in the middle of the…
When They Ask Hard Questions About Spiritual Things…
What can we as parents do to help OUR faith become OUR BOYS' faith? As my son goes into the age if double digits, (10 yrs old soon) I worry about him losing his faith. How do I help him look to God more and not less? These moms are right to be concerned. We read…
Covenant Eyes: There When You’re Not
"I don't know what to do, we hadn't even talked to him about sexuality yet, he's so young. I just found out he's been watching pornography, though. What do I do?" We've heard this from several moms - just this week! And the ages would break your heart. Seven, eight, and nine year olds being…
It Seems I’m Always Yelling
A reader with four boys 8 and under called for help: I feel like when I talk, no one hears me. So then I yell. My friends call me "The Drill Sergeant Mom". I am so frustrated. Wow, do we ever sympathize! One time, we had a friend -- a mother of several girls --…
“I Can’t Find It, Mom.”
We were setting up for a book fair last weekend and needed the lid to a plastic bin which is part of our display set up. I sent one of the boys to fetch it from the trailer. “It’s on the top shelf,” I said. Understand: Our trailer only has three shelves, there was only…

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