Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young MenUnfortunately, the number of resources for parents of boys, especially teenage boys, is minimal, especially when compared to the resources for parents of teenage girls. The funny thing is, when I began this blog, Connect with your Teens, I wanted to make it balanced equally to the interests of boys and girls. Since I worried that I might naturally lean more towards boys interests since I have only sons, I think I might have gone too much the other way. Had I realized then the dearth of parenting boy blogs, I might not have worried so much about that balance.

Why is it that there are so many more resources for parents of teenage girls, especially when it comes to parenting books, than there are for parents of teenage boys? I looked through all the parenting books I've received to review over the past few years and they have all either been gender neutral or mother/daughter.  Is it that teenage girls are more difficult and have more problems? Is it that the mother daughter relationship is more special? What do you think is the reason for this disparity?

Here are a few good resources for parents of boys that I dug up:

1. Raising Boys World - While I couldn't find any websites specifically for parents of teenage boys, this is a fantastic site for parents of boys of all ages. It contains many resources, a forum for discussions, a blog and more.

2. PBS Parents Understanding and Raising Boys - The PBS parents website has an entire section on understanding and raising boys, which contains many articles such as Boys in School and The Search for Masculinity.

3. Guys Read - This is really a website for boys to find books, but it can be a great place for parents of boys to get ideas for books to buy their sons. The mission of Guys Read is to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers, mainly by helping them find books they will enjoy reading.

4. Books - There are a handful of books for parents of teenage boys from over the years, as opposed to many per year for girls. Although I have not read these books and know nothing of their quality, here are the few recent parenting books for teen boys I could find:
In the future I will be looking to find and write about more resources for parents of teenage boys. I've spoken to Vanessa Van Petten of Radical Parenting about this topic and she is on the same mission. We will each link to each others posts on the topic of teen boys. If you can recommend any other resources for parents of teenage boys, please add them in the comments.

See also:  
Books vs Video Games - Beware! Your Views May Change
How to Bring Out the Best in Your Teens and Add Peace to Your Home


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