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.

This book is fantastic. I don't often read nonfiction, so it has to be well written to draw me in. This one definitely qualifies.

There's very helpful advice on both general and specific topics. Boys think differently than girls. It's one thing to know that, and another thing entirely to understand it.

There's links to printables, blog posts and other great resources in every chapter. I found this very helpful to be able to implement the strategies suggested without reinventing the wheel. 

 Boy Mom demystifies some things, and solves more than a few puzzles. I would go as far as to say that if you don't understand the way your husband thinks, this may help you understand. I would not try to 'parent' him, but I think this would help you communicate better!

Parenting is hard work, its HEART work, and we need to take the long term view. Teaching them how to be the men we want them to be. Boy Mom is an excellent resource for moms of boys of all ages. 

📌 I received an advance copy of this book from @NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and I am choosing to review it here.

Being a mom is hard. This book presents an honest look at parenting boys from a Christian perspective.

Very interesting as a mother of two sons I found this of great interest to me. Anything that can build a better relationship is welcome

I have a little boy and I found this book to be very relatable. I wasn’t familiar with the author beforehand, but I really enjoyed her writing style and how she shared personal experiences followed by research and data. There were so many helpful tips. I will definitely be purchasing this and recommending it to my boy mom friends!

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.)