Raising Emotionally Strong Boys: Tools Your Son Can Build on for Life
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-15 06:51:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：David Thomas
- ISBN：0764239988
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Summary
How can you help raise your sons to handle difficult emotions and process complex ideas of masculinity？ Drawing from 25 years of counseling， David Thomas explains what's behind their anger issues， anxiety， and depression， and shares how to foster emotional intelligence within your sons by teaching them healthy， constructive ways to express their emotions。
Reviews
Andrew
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In Raising Emotionally Strong Boys， David Thomas helps parents in understanding how boys are wired and how to raise them。 He has been counseling boys for over 25 years。 The book shared how men are more prone to substance abuse， suicide， infidelity， and pornography。 He explained how emotionally strong boys are resourceful- able to work through emotions， aware- knows his strengths and weaknesses， resilient- ability to cope， and empathetic- able to understanding feelings。 In the book， he shared how In Raising Emotionally Strong Boys， David Thomas helps parents in understanding how boys are wired and how to raise them。 He has been counseling boys for over 25 years。 The book shared how men are more prone to substance abuse， suicide， infidelity， and pornography。 He explained how emotionally strong boys are resourceful- able to work through emotions， aware- knows his strengths and weaknesses， resilient- ability to cope， and empathetic- able to understanding feelings。 In the book， he shared how boys are more prone to physically- hitting， biting， kicking， and screaming。 He discussed the importance of having a space where they can release their energy and intensity。 This could be a kick stand， punching bag， stress balls， pull up bar， trampoline， yoga mat， just to name a few。 Boy also struggle with showing their emotions since this is a sign of weakness。 Many of them have been taught to convert their fear， sadness， and disappointment into anger。 He looked at Jesus and how he was a man。 He displayed compassion， humility， love， and more in the face of being tempted and betrayed。 One of my favorite chapters was the one on anxiety and depression。 He shared how he hates when boys tell him that they don’t know when answering a question。 He shared how firstborns are more likely to experience perfectionism as a way to handle their anxiety。 One of the things he teaches boys is how to properly breathe。 He makes them try combat breathing for three minutes。 He first instructed them not to use screen time at all and they don’t use technology at first- apple watch or apps。 I think this is a wonderful thing to try。 I also liked how he looked at depression。 One of the most shocking things is the topic of suicide and how one man dies every minute on average。 I would recommend this awesome parenting book to anyone is raising boys。 He did an excellent job at exploring the emotional sides of boys and how we can navigate through anger， anxiety， depression， and much more。 I immensely loved how he looked at models and mentors and how we need to make sure we identity who is in our top five circles in our son’s lives。 I loved how he encouraged parents to spend time with the adult figures in their son’s lives to understand how they are influencing our kids lives- ex: coaches or youth group leaders。 I also liked the topic of habits and practices and how he included tips to build new habits。 。。。more
Jennifer Floyd
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There is great wisdom in this book for all humans to glean。 I'm beyond thankful to have a resource like this on my bookshelf to revisit over the years。 There is great wisdom in this book for all humans to glean。 I'm beyond thankful to have a resource like this on my bookshelf to revisit over the years。 。。。more
Karin Meissner
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So good！ I can already tell that I’ll be re-reading it as my boys grow up。 So many good insights and helpful tools。
Becca
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As a mom of two boys， I am so thankful to have read this book。 I’m sure I will come back to it often in the future。 David Thomas gives helpful and practical tips for helping boys develop emotional maturity。 A foundational concept in the book is the Three Rs: Recognize， Regulate， and Repair。 I especially appreciated the action steps at the end of each chapter that， if taken， help drive home the concepts in the respective chapter。 But what I really loved about this book was the overall message tha As a mom of two boys， I am so thankful to have read this book。 I’m sure I will come back to it often in the future。 David Thomas gives helpful and practical tips for helping boys develop emotional maturity。 A foundational concept in the book is the Three Rs: Recognize， Regulate， and Repair。 I especially appreciated the action steps at the end of each chapter that， if taken， help drive home the concepts in the respective chapter。 But what I really loved about this book was the overall message that our model for masculinity is not tradition or culture， but Christ。 Jesus experienced the full range of human emotions while on earth and showed us what it means to be a “real man。” It is a joy-filled task to be able to point our boys and young men to him rather than an ever-changing definition of manhood found in the culture， or a stoic caricature of “traditional” masculinity。 Highly recommend this for those who are in positions of influence in boys’ lives。 Let’s raise a generation of strong men in every sense of the word—physically， spiritually， mentally， and emotionally。Thank you to Netgalley and Bethany House for the review copy。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
S。K。
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I got so much out of this book and immediately chatted with my son about some of the key points。 I slid the book right back into my shelf so I can reassess as he gets a little older。 * I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review
Elizabeth Gaboriault
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Thank you， NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 I would give this book 5 stars if not for the author’s mention of “equity” and promotion of SEL programs in schools which have been infiltrated with CRT and woke ideology in recent years。 Barring those exceptions， this was a great book for parents， caregivers， grandparents， or anyone who deeply cares about the emotional development of boys， and who are looking for useful tools in assisting boys into be Thank you， NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 I would give this book 5 stars if not for the author’s mention of “equity” and promotion of SEL programs in schools which have been infiltrated with CRT and woke ideology in recent years。 Barring those exceptions， this was a great book for parents， caregivers， grandparents， or anyone who deeply cares about the emotional development of boys， and who are looking for useful tools in assisting boys into becoming well-rounded men rooted in faith。 。。。more
Panda Incognito
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This parenting book focuses on specific challenges that boys face in understanding and regulating their emotions。 David Thomas shares both general information and examples from his counseling practice to show how many boys' problematic， destructive behaviors stem from emotions that they don't know how to handle。 He encourages parents to create a culture of emotional openness in their homes， pushing back against unhealthy， limiting ideals of masculinity to make room for boys to fully experience a This parenting book focuses on specific challenges that boys face in understanding and regulating their emotions。 David Thomas shares both general information and examples from his counseling practice to show how many boys' problematic， destructive behaviors stem from emotions that they don't know how to handle。 He encourages parents to create a culture of emotional openness in their homes， pushing back against unhealthy， limiting ideals of masculinity to make room for boys to fully experience and express a variety of emotions before they feel like exploding。Raising Emotionally Strong Boys: Tools Your Son Can Build On for Life focuses on ways that parents can support their sons' emotional development and manage mental health and behavioral problems by getting to the root of the issue。 Thomas occasionally shares information from psychological research， but this is an advice-driven book， not an academic book with lots of studies cited。 Thomas mainly focuses on examples from his clients， illustrating common problems and coping skills for them。 He also concludes each chapter with reflective practices and action items parents can pursue。This book comes from a Christian worldview and occasionally references Scripture， but it is also accessible to a general audience， with examples and advice that readers of any belief background can relate to and find helpful。 However， I wish that Thomas had provided a range of examples for boys' interests and activities。 He routinely references sports as a major sphere of social and personal development， but even though massive numbers of boys do play sports， the constant assumption of athletic involvement could be frustrating to parents whose boys are interested in activities like music， art， theater， or robotics club。 However， the book's primary content will be relevant and helpful to most families regardless。I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Anna
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I really enjoyed this book。 This is my first book by this author， so I was not familiar with him or his work。 He give a ton of helpful， specific strategies in this book for guiding boys to process and control their emotions， so that they're not being controlled by them。 Some of these I'd heard of before， but a lot were new to me。 Although my son is currently an infant， I plan to try several of these with him and our family in the coming years。 I liked how everything was tied back to scripture ve I really enjoyed this book。 This is my first book by this author， so I was not familiar with him or his work。 He give a ton of helpful， specific strategies in this book for guiding boys to process and control their emotions， so that they're not being controlled by them。 Some of these I'd heard of before， but a lot were new to me。 Although my son is currently an infant， I plan to try several of these with him and our family in the coming years。 I liked how everything was tied back to scripture verses; however as I said he gave practical tips and strategies for overcoming common issues boys have with their emotions。 I highlighted a ton as I read！ I am a teacher as well and I can see how some of the strategies listed in the book for regulating emotions would also be helpful in the classroom。 This is one I plan to buy to have physically on hand and reread as my son grows。 I definitely plan to recommend this one to friends who also have sons。 Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy; I was not required to write a positive review。 All thoughts about the book are my own。 。。。more
Cindy Davis- Cindy's Book Corner
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I found Raising Emotionally Strong Boys an enlightening read。However， I would say that while I understand the focus is on boys， and they struggle more with the issues in this book than girls do， girls would also benefit from multiple things Thomas has outlined in this book。Men are often skilled in avoiding pain and numbing discomfort。 They struggle greatly with asking for help and attending to their health and well-being。 What if we raised a generation of boys that saw prioritizing mental health I found Raising Emotionally Strong Boys an enlightening read。However， I would say that while I understand the focus is on boys， and they struggle more with the issues in this book than girls do， girls would also benefit from multiple things Thomas has outlined in this book。Men are often skilled in avoiding pain and numbing discomfort。 They struggle greatly with asking for help and attending to their health and well-being。 What if we raised a generation of boys that saw prioritizing mental health as wisdom？Thomas talks about how we are to help our boys learn to recognize stress， then instruct them on how to regulate through the stress， and finally， repair any damage that is done （verbally， physically） during their stressful moments。 He calls it the three Rs。 This is a skill I believe girls need to learn as well。One of the things I enjoyed about this book was the recap of the main points at the end of the chapter。 It helped drive the points home。 Some of the topics discussed in this book are common emotional struggles， like anger， depression， and anxiety。 Thomas also includes recommendations for other resources that would be beneficial to have your son do daily， like journaling。My son is seventeen years old， and I wish this book had come out a few years ago。 It would have helped us navigate some of the harder seasons we have had。 I highly recommend this book to parents and anyone who works with boys in any capacity。Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book。 I was not required to give a positive review。 All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own。 。。。more
Caitlin （CMAReads）
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Thanks to Bethany House for the free book。This book is a useful part of foundational work on raising a boy， though I feel like the overarching theme - especially the three R's can be applied to all children。 I liked how this author shared about how parents can connect with their son when they are in a rough place。 There are also chapters on how to create a foundation to hopefully prevent problems in the future。 I will be using some of these methods in my future parenting。 However， I wanted a lot Thanks to Bethany House for the free book。This book is a useful part of foundational work on raising a boy， though I feel like the overarching theme - especially the three R's can be applied to all children。 I liked how this author shared about how parents can connect with their son when they are in a rough place。 There are also chapters on how to create a foundation to hopefully prevent problems in the future。 I will be using some of these methods in my future parenting。 However， I wanted a lot more peer reviewed sources for the information presented。 This is a super picky preference， I know， but I'd love to see where he's getting some of his claims。 Also there is so much research out there about how sleep training doesn't teach a child to self-soothe and putting this false advice in the book could be harmful for some parents when it comes to sleep。 This was a big downer for me in the book because this rhetoric was presented as fact without any sources to back this claim up。 Everything I've read about little babies and toddlers is how dependence fosters independence， and this idea is totally missing。 Overall， there are some great points here， and it would make a good resource to have in a parenting resource arsenal。 。。。more
Kristie
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I am so impressed with this book！ Although I'm not a parent， I have taught hundreds of boys ages 4-11 in my teaching career。 I could not help but think of the variety of personalities and levels of emotional strength in my young students。The insights and tools in this book are excellent。 It emphasizes the importance of teaching boys not only to manage their emotions， but to give themselves permission to have them in the first place。 It talks about how essential it is for boys to see examples of I am so impressed with this book！ Although I'm not a parent， I have taught hundreds of boys ages 4-11 in my teaching career。 I could not help but think of the variety of personalities and levels of emotional strength in my young students。The insights and tools in this book are excellent。 It emphasizes the importance of teaching boys not only to manage their emotions， but to give themselves permission to have them in the first place。 It talks about how essential it is for boys to see examples of other men being vulnerable， asking for help， losing a competition， and mourning a loved one， all without compromising their manliness。 That is something I appreciated greatly， being married to a very masculine， but also a sensitive man。 I also thought about the other men in my life: my second generation absent father， my brother who broke that cycle in our family and is an extremely involved dad to his children， an amazing grandfather who stepped into the father role many times in my life， cousins and uncles， circling back to my husband， who is one of the most emotionally strong men I know。 What I was not prepared for was the amount of Biblical references， which I welcome， but may limit the book's audience， unfortunately。 The author uses Christ as the ultimate example of emotional strength， which I thought was wonderful。 Who better to pattern your life after？This would make a great book club selection， a terrific gift， and an interesting read for parents， grandparents， and teachers。 Thank you NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Jordan
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"Raising Emotionally Strong Boys" by David Thomas brings together the authors collected knowledge of his life and career mentoring boys across life stages and ages。 While not a well researched and deep work it did have me going through it with a highlighter and notebook。 I began reading it for tips on raising my son but ended up coming away understanding the male members of my family much better。 While my son is a bit young to implement some of the takeaways of the book my husband is not！The wea "Raising Emotionally Strong Boys" by David Thomas brings together the authors collected knowledge of his life and career mentoring boys across life stages and ages。 While not a well researched and deep work it did have me going through it with a highlighter and notebook。 I began reading it for tips on raising my son but ended up coming away understanding the male members of my family much better。 While my son is a bit young to implement some of the takeaways of the book my husband is not！The weakness of the book is probably in the introduction。 There was no 'roadmap' to what I was reading and I am not familiar with the author or their previous work。 I would have benefited from a 'this is what I'm going to tell you in this book and this is why it's different to my previous work'。 However， once I pushed through and kept reading I got into the rhythm of the chapters and found it more useful。 。。。more
Mariale & Pieter Dros
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I have been listening to David Thomas in the Podcast Raising boys and girls for a while， and I really enjoy every episode。 David Thomas counts with a great professional experience as a psychology and counselor but also a father of boys。 In Raising Emotional Strong Boys， David shares so many insights of what it is to raise strong， healthy， emotional boys。 He helps us to understand the emotions that our boys go through。 David shares tools of how we can help， teach， and mentor our boys throug all t I have been listening to David Thomas in the Podcast Raising boys and girls for a while， and I really enjoy every episode。 David Thomas counts with a great professional experience as a psychology and counselor but also a father of boys。 In Raising Emotional Strong Boys， David shares so many insights of what it is to raise strong， healthy， emotional boys。 He helps us to understand the emotions that our boys go through。 David shares tools of how we can help， teach， and mentor our boys throug all those emotions they may face。 I love the fact that Thomas is also Christian and counselor with a healthy biblical view。 I highly recommend it！！ 。。。more
Melany
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Great resource to help any boy accell in life！ I absolutely loved the Three R's。 I think the back stories and tips in this book are something everyone should utilize when raising their own son（s）！ I have a 7 year old who has gone through so many changes due to the current world issues and gained anxiety due to all of it。 I think I will find myself going back to this book for reassurance and tips to help him through this journey in life。 I believe this is a great tool to utilize for any parent！Th Great resource to help any boy accell in life！ I absolutely loved the Three R's。 I think the back stories and tips in this book are something everyone should utilize when raising their own son（s）！ I have a 7 year old who has gone through so many changes due to the current world issues and gained anxiety due to all of it。 I think I will find myself going back to this book for reassurance and tips to help him through this journey in life。 I believe this is a great tool to utilize for any parent！This ARC was given to me from NetGalley to read and review and give my personal opinions on this book。 All statements above are my own and based solely on my own opinions after reading the book。 。。。more
Delicia Nugroho
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As a new mother of one year old son， I'm completely clueless about how to raise boys。 That's one of the reasons why I gravitate towards this book。A lot of parenting books I've read seems to target a general POV on raising kids， but this one is specifically addressed to parents/ leaders/pastors/mentors that work with boys。This is the kind of book you didn't think you'll need， but will actually help you A LOT。 Coming from his own personal experience as a psychologist/counsellor， David Thomas seems As a new mother of one year old son， I'm completely clueless about how to raise boys。 That's one of the reasons why I gravitate towards this book。A lot of parenting books I've read seems to target a general POV on raising kids， but this one is specifically addressed to parents/ leaders/pastors/mentors that work with boys。This is the kind of book you didn't think you'll need， but will actually help you A LOT。 Coming from his own personal experience as a psychologist/counsellor， David Thomas seems to know an awful lot about how boys can regulate their emotions and offer step by step practical advice you could do to mentor them。David Thomas addresses a lot of people from any kind of situation: there's advice for parents， single parents， even sub chapters specifically for fathers and mothers。I also love how the author gives many outside （and free） examples of resources， something us as parents can take and apply it into our home（s）。This book should become a required reading for parents of young boys。 I would also believe that pastor/youth leaders/coaches/ anyone who is working with young boys will benefit something out of this book。Thank you #NetGalley and Baker Publishing for providing me this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review！ 。。。more
Michelle
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