Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching and Appreciating Boys [Paperback]

Hal Young (Author), Melanie Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 2010

"Six boys!" folks say in mock horror, "Well, better you than me."

We answer them cheerfully - we love our boys and they're a gift from God...a reward.

Privately, though, we admit to ourselves it's not always rosy. Teenaged boys put away a startling amount of groceries. Young boys can be downright destructive. They're noisy, unconcerned with personal hygiene, and the dog has a longer attention span - or so it seems, some days.

If this is God's chosen gift to us, then why does it seem so hard? How can we prepare these boys to serve God when we can barely make it through the day. Isn't there a better way?

The answer is yes.

Raising Real Men looks beyond the untied shoes and dirty jeans to what the Lord means your son to be. Learn how to help him focus on schoolwork, find real heroes, stand alone when he needs to, and become a real man one day. Don t just survive raising boys, succeed at it and learn how to love them as they really are.

"Raising Real Men is for real men who aspire to pass on a legacy of strength, courage and fidelity to Christ our King. It encouraged me as a father. I pray it will encourage you." Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr., Author of When You Rise Up

"Hal and Melane Young have six sons and are disciples of Jesus. They know how to raise real men. This book is a treasure trove of practical tips to help you to raise your sons right. It will answer your questions, help you avoid mistakes, bring them up in the Lord, and understand them. I highly recommend it." Chris Klicka, Author of The Right Choice and Homeschool Heroes

Editorial Reviews

Review

As the grandfather of six boys ranging in age from two to fifteen, I am acutely aware of the need that this book fills, and quite admirably. This is just what the doctor ordered for parents who want to raise capable Christian men of character. --John Rosemond, Parenting Columnist and Author of Parenting by the Book

In a time when our culture seems intent on emasculating our boys, it is a real pleasure to find Christians who are pushing back, responding with biblical answers. Raising Real Men combines a number of important characteristics in giving advice to parents of young boys it is earthy, realistic, humorous and scriptural. Hal and Melanie Young write from a homeschooling setting, but much of what they have to say is also pertinent to Christian parents of boys in private Christian schools. I hope this book gets a wide reading in both realms. --Douglas Wilson, Author of Future Men, Minister of Christ Church, Moscow, Idaho

Raising boys can be a tremendous challenge for parents, especially when you have more than an few. We know that God designed them much differently than girls because of the role that He has chosen for them in life. Hal and Melanie in RAISING REAL MEN, have approached this subject from a Biblical perspective and have been true to the Biblical principles laid down for raising boys. However, once the principle has been laid out, then they bring a unique practical aspect to raising boys where the rubber meets the road. This is a book that will give parents a clear road map to follow for having the greatest possibility of success as parents prepare boys for their God-given role in adulthood. This is a book that every family should have no matter the number of boys and even those families without boys as the book gives tremendous insight into understanding how boys think and why they act as they do. This book meets a crying need in an area where there is very little specific direction. Thank you Hal and Melanie for this outstanding work of the Lord. --J. Michael Smith, Esq., President, Home School Legal Defense Association

About the Author

Hal and Melanie Young have been blessed with six real boys (and two real girls). They frequently speak on parenting, education and family policy issues, and their articles have appeared in publications in the U.S., Canada and New Zealand including Homeschooling Today, The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, Homeschool Digest, School Reform News, and Conservative Citizen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Great Waters Press (January 29, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0984144307
• ISBN-13: 978-0984144303
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Raising Real Men - a book review March 24, 2010

By Epi Kardia Home Education

Format:Paperback

The only problem with the book Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching and Appreciating Boys, is that I regret not having had the opportunity to read it earlier. Just published this January, this 253 page volume (including the detailed index) not only helps us answer those frustrated mommy questions like "WHY did you do that?" when your feisty sons behave oh, so differently than your dutiful daughters.

(The event I was recollecting as I said that was when my now-17 year old son was about seven, and wondered what would happen if he squirted the light bulb in his dresser lamp with a water pistol. The resulting minor explosion was just one of many `experiments' conducted by my now-not-so-little explorer.)

We have only been blessed with one boy, but he has made quite an impact on our family. The authors of Raising Real Men have six, so they are more than qualified to write this book; actually, they are not qualified just because they have six sons; they qualify because they understand that boys - just like little girls - are a picture of the image of God, tragically marred by sin. And that our focus must be on leading our sons into godly manhood, not just trying to manage them to make our lives convenient and more pleasant. p. 25

Hal and Melanie Young, the authors of this book, clearly speak the truth as they describe our culture's desire to feminize men and our misguided attempts to `change' our boys, rather than understand them. The Youngs not only exhort us to celebrate the uniqueness of our boys, they give us very practical suggestions for how to train and ready them to use those special God-given characteristics to be the men God created them to be.

Listen to some of these intriguing chapter titles/subtitles from Part One - Virtues in the Rough:

* Resisting Feminization
* Boys Need Heroes
* Visual Media
* Heroes from History
* Bring on the Boldness
* When to Comfort, When to Encourage
* Standing Alone
* Responsibility, Then Freedom
* Learning to Stand
* What the bible Says about Leadership
* Developing the Next Generation's Leaders
* The Biblical View of Competition
* The Puritan View of Games and Competition
* What the Bible Says about Manners

In Part Two - Civilization for the Tough, the Youngs discuss that raising manly men doesn't mean raising barbarians. Men can and should be civilized. p. 126 :) Part Two is concerned with preparing a young man to interact appropriately with a world that so desperately needs his godly leadership.

How can we teach our sons the things they will need to interact in society, to lead their families, to serve God? Step by step, suiting the way God made them, in an intentional, thoughtful way... just the way we teach them everything. p. 126

Sometimes - many times - homeschooling seems overwhelming; homeschooling boys can be, especially. I loved the above quote because it is in accord with the old Puritan saying, "Do the next thing." Let's make a plan and just take one step at a time. This book will help you make that plan for raising your boys to be the men they were created to be.

One of my favorite chapters in Part Two is called "Your Own School for Boys." This chapter may well be your favorite chapter, too, if you have been pulling your hair out trying to home school your boys! Melanie Young has home schooled six boys at a time and has obviously done some reading on the subject, offering us an explanation why and how boys are different than girls in the learning arena as well as many practical suggestions to get the most out of your boys. Chapter subtitles:

* Developmental Differences
* Developmental "Delays"
* Gender Differences in Learning
* Louder, Mom
* "I Think He Must Be Hyperactive..."
* "Why Do I Have to Learn This, Anyway?"
* What's Your Goal, Son?
* The Benefit of Stress

This is great stuff! Additionally, chapters include end notes with scriptural back up!

Other very useful information in this book pertains to teaching boys how to be faithful stewards of their money, why we need to teach them to have good manners, how the Bible looks at work roles and how to deal with male/female relationships. It even aids with considerations about choosing a college, for the college bound, and describes the counselor role we move into as our children leave the nest.

Imminently readable, warm and biblical, Raising Real Men will help you learn how to train and shape your noisy, dirty, rambunctious boys into real men who can stand on their own two feet and face the world, lead their families, and fulfill the purpose for which they were created.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Biblical insight on raising boys to be the men God wants them to be October 20, 2010

By HeatherHH

Format:Paperback

According to the back cover, this book is a "practical guide to equipping the hearts and minds of boys without breaking or losing your own." This book, written from a Christian perspective by the parents of six boys (and two girls), explores the differences in how God made boys and girls and in what He intends for them to grow up to become.

I found this book to offer new insights to me as a homeschooling mother. I quite understandably view the world from a woman's perspective, and I see that I've had a tendency at times to try to stifle my nine-year-old son's masculine tendencies rather than to encourage them or to appropriately redirect them. The son who bounds about the house endangering any breakable items (not to mention his family) does indeed need to learn self-control and thoughtfulness to others, but he also needs that energy rechanneled into something productive. It also made me recognize areas in which I believe my son needs further direction in order to grow up to be the man that God wants him to be.

Some of the topics covered in this book include.... A boy's tendency to look for heroes to emulate. Adventure and recklessness. Responsibility and then freedom. Violence and scripture. Learning to obey before learning to lead. Games and competition. Teaching financial responsibility. Developmental differences between the genders. Manners and chivalry. "Women's work" (with the authors disagreeing with the idea that boys shouldn't cook or clean). Sexual temptation. Finding a wife. College. And more.

The book is filled with Scripture references (NASB for those interested). But, it is not a dry theological treatise. The book is written in an engaging, conversational style and is replete with examples from the author's own lives. The authors are on the conservative side, not only on their views of headship, but also courtship, television/movie viewing, etc. I happen to agree with them on these matters, but even if the reader will not follow them in these matters, there is still plenty of other profitable material in this book.

While I didn't agree with the authors on every topic (we differ in our opinions of competition), I felt that they approached the topic of raising boys to be men quite Biblically. The book was filled with many rich insights. I profited from it, and have recommended to my husband that he read it as well. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to Christian parents of boys.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! August 14, 2010

By Aaron Tierney

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a much needed book for the times that we are living in. It's full of helpful information and stories. It reads like you're sitting having a conversation with the author. If you are a parent of boys, this book is a MUST-READ! It's especially helpful for dads also. But if your man is anything like mine, he doesn't like to sit and read. So, I got him the audio version that he can listen to in the car on his way to or from work. VERY helpful! And he likes the "book" a lot as well!