This is a very good book with lots of good points for parents of small boys and teenagers. .It was an enjoyable read and I recommend this book to everyone that has a little boy in their life. Thank you WaterBrook & Multnomah via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I love the insight that this mom gives. There are a lot of aspects in a boys life that you can’t anticipate. A great resource for mothers everywhere! This is not a theological book, but more a guide for day to day life with a boy under the same roof.

July 24, 2019
BOY MOM - Monica Swanson

I received this free book for the purpose of review from Net Galley.

Monica Swanson is an outstanding author and I totally enjoyed this helpful book dedicated to BOY MOM. As a mother of four boys and nine grandsons I totally related to her book and the many things she did to shine the light for mothers of boys.

Mom, she does point out that the best thing you will do for your boy is to first have a relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior, spend valuable quiet time with God daily and love Dad. She is not perfect and does an excellent job of not expecting excellence out of you.

First, I must say her most important subject she points out is the value of leaving a legacy for boys and how mom has a large influence on her sons. While we think Dad is the primary example for a boy and he is, Mom sets the stage for her boy in the very early years. It is Mom who shows nurturing, compassion and kindness. She models for her boys words to express feelings and gives him the freedom to express his feelings.

Be strong Mom, read, study your boy, pray for your boy, love his dad and never never give up. Many times you will not know the impact on your son until he is older. It is never to early to start and never to late to correct course.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!


As a mom to a five year old boy, this book definitely suited me. I'd say every boy mom should check this book out.

As a mother of three boys I have been encouraged by Monica Swanson’s straightforward, genuine, grace-filled perspective on parenting. Raising boys requires a delicate balance of gentle motherly love, strength, and discipline. Boy Mom offers tools for raising confident, wise, gentleman who can function successfully in the world.
Monica’s guidebook is based on her own experiences with her four boys who’s ages range from college down to elementary school. She balances real-life examples with research and practical application that is useful to mothers in each stage of life. The book highlights what sons need most and ways to navigate those areas. It’s a perfect guide for evaluating your own parenting style, priorities, and opportunities as you build a solid relationship with your son and prepare him to launch into adulthood.

After following Monica on social media for a long time I was so excited to find out about this book. I was even more excited to get ahold of an ebook ARC through #netgalley and be a part of spreading the word on this book.

Monica is heart felt and honest; giving a transparent account of her years parenting young boys and how she wanted to raise them.

This book lays it out in an amazing resource. It's not just a how to but a peak into what she does in her own home and I love that she offers lists, ideas, prompts for conversation with our sons, and even questions for me as I read. My boys are 10 and 4 and I wish I had this book before they were born but now it even offers me assistance and guidance into how I can implement this starting today. It takes into account differences in personalities and gets down to the nitty gritty of what issues will come up that MUST be addressed.

Lastly and the reason this book will stay in my library until I'm a grandma and long after - is that it is Christ centered.

Monica is a blessing to those moms floundering and wondering; am I doing this right??? She offers this stepping stone and support and I give this book 5 stars without a look back... She left nothing out! Be blessed and buy this book!

Upbeat, practical encouragement for intentional parenting.

Swanson has four boys, one just off to college down to one in elementary school. My son is a middle schooler and I appreciate being able to glean from a mom who has gone before me.

To be honest I didn’t finish the book. I’m a boy mom but my kids are all under 5 and i felt like the book was for parents with older children. Don’t get me wrong the wisdom that the author shares is extremely helpful. I’ve tried putting some of her advice in to practice with my family. It was hard to identify and apply a lot to my current situation though. I am positive that I will definitely look to this book in the future as my kids grow older.

I received this book through NetGalley.

Blogger Monica Swanson knew she'd tapped a heartfelt concern when nearly two million readers shared her blog post "What a Teenage Boy Needs Most from His Mom." In Boy Mom, she takes mothers deeper into the insights they need for the boy-raising journey.

Let me begin by saying I find this type of book hard to review. I requested it from NetGalley because I’m a boy mom and was curious about the kind of advice that would be offered. Would I be able to use any of this information? Frankly, I found it a little overwhelming. It made me wonder why I read books like this. They always make me feel terrible about myself. I know it’s not the intention of the author to judge, but I feel judged and walked away with a “I’m a terrible mother” feeling.

I didn’t find all of the advice offered relatable to me. That’s not to say this is a bad book because it’s not. Boy Mom is well written and the chapters well organized. Each chapter features personal stories that share what has worked for the Swanson family. Questions featured at the end of each chapter allow readers to dive in and think deeper about what they’ve just read. While it was not a turn off for me, the scripture references and mentions of the Swanson’s family faith may be a turn off for some.

Despite what may sound like and feels to me like a negative review, I know some moms out there are going to learn so much. Swanson offers checklists and several links for those who will need the advice offered printed for future reference.

As a mom of a soon to be teenage boy I felt this book was a must read for me. I want to go into the teenage years with tools to help make is most enjoyable for our family. I found lots of inspiration in this book. Boy Mom is full of helpful information in so many topics we deal with during the teenage years of a boys life. I will definitely recommend this to moms going thru this season of life. I was given the opportunity to read the book early for my honest review.

Loved this book. Great practical application and encouragement for moms of boys!! The questions at the end of the chapter are great to help moms walk this journey with boys. I highly recommend this book. I am thankful
To netgalley for the advanced copy.

A great and encouraging read for those who are raising boys, nephews, cousins, grandsons. Swanson reminds you of the importance of life, and the importance of focusing on raising your precious son in the midst of the crazy busy world.

I absolutely loved reading Boy Mom. This is the first book I have found that addresses the needs of boys from preschool through the teen years. I've found as my son hit the teenage years it was hard to find authors that connected to the stage where I was trying to grow with my son as so many books are focused on the younger years. Monica addresses all life areas from relationships, to work ethic, to character, to technology. What I love the most is that the entire book is girded with the truth of the importance of a relationship with Christ and how that is the foundation of everything and yet she also doesn't force Christianity on her readers and even those that aren't Christians can gain a lot from the book. She's candid in sharing her personal expeiences and you almost feel like you know the Swansons. There are so many pages I bookmarked to go back to and key lessons and tools I am going to apply to raising my teenage son.

As a mama to three boys 4 and under, this book encouraged me and challenged me in so many ways. This is now a well highlighted book as there was just so much good wisdom in it. I loved the challenge of parenting with intentionality and I know I am a better mom for reading this. My husband has also noticed a difference in our home and kids since I started implementing some of what I learned in this book.

I love that she addresses the needs of different age groups as well as different subjects each will face. I also loved that she had a ton of additional resources to check out in addition to the text to dive deeper. Each chapter also included several discussion and reflection questions that took it deeper. I appreciated how often she referred back to their belief in Jesus and how evident it was she gave all the credit to him.


The only downside with this book would be that not all families would be able to make some of the sacrifices or investments encouraged due to financial or situational constraints. However, the author does state at the beginning not all may be applicable.

I received a my e-copy free from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an amazing book. It has encouraged me in the wonderful adventure of raising boys. It reminded me to be intentional in my parenting, to keep praying and trusting in God for my kiddos life. it has also inspired me to enjoy every single time with my boys and as a family. I have laughed and cried. If you have boys you need to read this book!!!

"Boy Mom" is an important book for any mom of boys. I have learned and gleaned so much from the book that it has been a slow read for me, which is unusual. I have made notes, shared quotes with friends who are also in the trenches of raising boys and encouraged others to order the book for themselves. To say I love it is an understatement!

Monica Swanson is a blogger and mom of three boys who has been where other boymoms have been. She has chosen to put on paper her victories and missteps, with room left for continual, consistent progress. As I read the book, I felt that it was one that I'd been wishing for. It's always nice to know someone can relate to exactly the struggles and specific concerns moms might have when raising boys. I often wonder how other moms get through the tough seasons, and Monica deftly explains that her strength is found in the God who not only gave her sons, but the God who continues to love them even more than she does. Each chapter has a specific theme, which would be helpful for returning to at a later date, should those issues be ones you've not experienced (or overcome!) yet.

Practical, honest and at times convicting, "Boy Mom" is one of those books I think I will keep in mind for a gift for the next friend who has a son. Applicable, challenging and encouraging, this is one you do not want to miss. I feel certain this is one that will stand the test of time. This would be a great book for moms to share together in a moms group or book club.

I read the book early, thanks to #NetGalley and Penguin Random House. All opinions are my own and I chose to review. Boy moms, please don't overlook this book!

I enjoyed this book as a parent of two boys I can say the advise is sound and passionately shared. Monica revealed much about her family and her love for her sons really shines through. The perspective of parenting boys is from a mother's point of view as fathers may parent differently. This is a full and thoughtful read with lots of nuggets to help a parent to consider how to prepare their sons and respond to their sons. It is from a Christian point of view and gives pointed references to help mom's guide their boys.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. First things first - I genuinely liked this author as I read. She was personable and the love for her boys shines through on every page. I appreciated her honesty and candor throughout the pages. Secondly, there were many helpful concepts for raising boys that I found helpful and interesting. However, there was something about this book that just kept me from loving it. I felt like it was overwhelming at times - the instructions and many areas covered were almost too much to keep up with. I honestly feel like I can not do everything that is in this book - I think I expected the focus to be a little narrower. Each chapter could nearly have been a book in and of itself.

I’m really enjoying this book. I think Ms Swanson’s way of writing just pulls the reader right in. She’s very relatable anime’s across the page as real. I was immediately drawn in with her own personal stories of her struggles and how she learned to be a boy mom. Also, she gives solid advice and I learned a few important lessons I hadn’t even thought about before this book. Already implementing what I’ve learned

Unfortunately, I was unable to pick up much from this book. Part of the reason is that I am an educator and most of it was already well embedded into my parenting. Some of it was common sense, granted people do need written reminders e even when they "know" the right thing to do - a little nudge to cross that knowing-doing gap. Now, the other part of the reason that this book was not very helpful to me is that it is written from the standpoint of a st at home Christian mom with comfortable income. I, and most people I know, cannot easily cut down on the amount of hours they work in order to spend more time with their children. Or pick up and move when their child gets involved with the wrong crowd. It is simple out of reach for many.