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It's A Boy!: Understanding Your Son's Development From Birth To Age 18
From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Raising Cain, It’s a Boy! is the first major parenting book to chart every stage of a boy’s life. This upbeat, authoritative, and reassuring guide–written by psychologist Michael Thompson, Ph.D., a leading international expert on boys’ development, and journalist Teresa H. Barker–shows how a boy’s inner life progresses throu...more
Hardcover, 432 pages
Published
March 25th 2008
by Ballantine Books
(first published March 25th 2007)
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Given to us by my son's school. At first I thought, "not another parenting book!", but found it to have a very reassuring style of writing. Presents a down to earth, factual and balanced approach in explaining typical boy development and behaviour. Findings from well known studies in child development/psychology are used throughout as well as anecdotes from the author's perspective as a practicing psychologist and parent. No extreme parenting styles here. Some may be disappointed at la...more
While I don't suggest any parent read a book and take what is discussed as the end all be all, and I don't necessarily agree with everything I have read thus far, I do think this book as some helpful and some VERY helpful insights into boys. As with any book of this type, I read, think about it, and pray to decide what fits our family and how. As a woman, with 4 sisters and one brother, and now a mom of two boys and 2 girls, I am appreciative to read, learn, and realize that my boys think and ...more
I like this very much so far. A good blend of anecdotal and empirical research with tons of practical tips thrown in for good measure.
Where this book falls down is not in what it offers readers about children, but in what it says about parents. This book provides a distinctly hetero-sexist, two-parent perspective in its descriptions of families and the descriptions of parent roles are more than a little gendered. The writers don't go so far afield in those directions that I find the...more
Where this book falls down is not in what it offers readers about children, but in what it says about parents. This book provides a distinctly hetero-sexist, two-parent perspective in its descriptions of families and the descriptions of parent roles are more than a little gendered. The writers don't go so far afield in those directions that I find the...more
Thompson is a clinical psychologist and he co-authored Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys. This more recent book takes parents of boys from infancy to adulthood and highlights developmental milestones and challenges for each age. I read the first three chapters, which take you up to school age, and plan to read the others as my boys grow (they are 2 and 4).
Each chapter explains the physical, social, attachment, cognitive, academic, emotional, moral and spiritual de...more
Each chapter explains the physical, social, attachment, cognitive, academic, emotional, moral and spiritual de...more
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I've always been fascinated (and annoyed) with boys for as long as I can remember. And now I'm even more fascinated with my baby boy so when I saw this title I snatched it up.
I wanted to follow my brother around everywhere he would go and I was his shadow. I was there right behind him when he was climbing trees, I was there when he jumped into the ditch that ran through our yard, I was there when he collected insects to see which was the king of all the insects.. he was always active ...more
I wanted to follow my brother around everywhere he would go and I was his shadow. I was there right behind him when he was climbing trees, I was there when he jumped into the ditch that ran through our yard, I was there when he collected insects to see which was the king of all the insects.. he was always active ...more
Loved this book. It gave nice perspective on the behavior of boys especially for a parent who has never been one. Wished it had talked a bit more about younger boys who are less conventional. My son is very social but also cautious and careful; definitley a look before you leap child if he leaps at all. The chapters on younger boys focused mostly on the rough and tumble types of which my son is not. All in all though I thoroughly enjoyed the insight this book gave into the lives of boys.
This book is amazing if you have a boy. A friend recommended that I borrow it and I'm so glad she did. Sometimes you find yourself wondering, is that normal? Should I be concerned with that? But this book had me feeling much better about parenting a boy. The book is split into age groups making it very easy to just pick it up and quickly read a chapter on five-year olds.
abmahoney
added it
So far I'm liking it. He tackles a lot of the difficult questions that don't always have definitive answers. Questions like, how much aggression is okay and when does it become a concern? How do you discipline w/o squelching our son's spirits or pushing them to rebel?
I've got two boys and I like the fact that this book covers all ages from birth to 18. A lot of Thompson's examples I see in my kids for their perspective age groups.
The only thing that kind of bothers me s...more
I've got two boys and I like the fact that this book covers all ages from birth to 18. A lot of Thompson's examples I see in my kids for their perspective age groups.
The only thing that kind of bothers me s...more
skimmed just the 1-4 year old section. fairly main stream in terms of advice but reassuring that boisterous e energy is normal development for toddler/pre-school boys. makes me even more wary of preschool for boys as it seems to be more in line with expectations of typical girl development.
This is a fabulous book for anyone who works with children or has a son. It is easy to read and very straightforward in helping parents (especially moms) understand the perspective of boys. I absolutely loved it and have given it as a gift to almost everyone I know with sons.
Not much helpful information. I guess I was looking for developmental benchmark stuff, and resources to help my son...and the authors whole thing was that everyone moves at their own pace. Also, the book went up to 18 years, and I only have 9 months to work with...
I have to confess that I did not read this entire book. I read up until the chapter on 3-4 year old boys and then skimmed the rest for an interview I did with one of its authors, Dr. Michael Thompson. In my defense, I will point out that it is not designed to be the kind of book that one curls up with and reads in one sitting, but more of a reference guide to pull out again and again as a parent. Since my reading/skimming, I think I've recommended it to a different person every day. It is an exc...more
I love this book. The author is such a fan of boyhood at all ages that it's great to pick up when I get nostalgic for Luke's 'baby days.' It makes me look forward to all the excitement yet to come!
A great basic book for understanding the growth and development of a son. I found it very helpful and reassuring considering I have no brothers, etc. (Thanks, Elizabeth H.!)
Not really read, just started and I give up. What a depressing view of parenting boys. An us against the evils of the world perspective, what a downer.
Really helpful in making the decision to delay a year for kindergarten. Boys are different! This book explains why and how.
Gretchen
is currently reading it
After reading just the intro and the Wild Thing chapter (3-4 years) I'm realizing that my boy is indeed normal.
This book really explained to me my sons behavior.
Wished I had read it a lot earlier.
This was a book that focused on boys' development and didn't delve too deeply into specific sermonizing on particular ways to parent. Not perfect, but a good resource, very positive overall, and not condescending. Worth the time to browse for an overview and then have on the shelf as new milestones come up. It is mostly organized chronologically.
I got this book because I am a new mom to a baby boy. It was interesting to see the differences between the development of girls and boys. I liked the book but felt the book could have given us a bit more information.
It is good as a reference but if I had to do again, I would get the book from the library instead of buying it.
It is good as a reference but if I had to do again, I would get the book from the library instead of buying it.
An excellent resource and reference guide for parents and educators of boys. Reassuring in some respects as it addresses normal developmental behaviors. Very helpful with practical approaches to meeting the physical and emotional needs of a boy. I refer to it frequently as I'm raising my three young sons.
Very interesting insights to raising boys--I am seeing that my boys are a healthy normal and that my misconceptions of what boys should and shouldn't be doing were jaded. Wish I would have read this before they were born...
so far, this book has assured me that my son's demon behavior is not the early signs of a cat-torturer/ serial killer. Phew. Obviously, I haven't read this whole thing, since it goes up through teenage-hood, but it is a go-to on the shelf now.
Love this book... it is to be read through-out your son's life. I did not have brothers so this gives me a great perspective into my son. Probably remain on my currently reading list for awhile.
I had to return this book to the library before I could finish it...I think it had some insights to offer so I will probably have to take it out again some other time and read more...
WOW. My boy isn't nearly as "out of control" as school would have me believe. It's more that the structure of school doesn't work all that well for my boy. Hmmm...
The author interviewed hundreds of boys and seems to have really gotten the feel for the different age groups and what to expect from them.
I didn't really read the whole book... I found the age I was interested in (Ezra's) to be too shallow to bother reading the rest.
Still reading, but so far it has had some interesting info. I think I would also use Brazelton's Touchpoints as a basic text.
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This currently (2008-02-26 18:43 GMT) appears to represent at least four different authors – an artist, a philosopher, a political scientist, and a child psychologist – not to mention possibly a physicist.
The child psychologist is Michael Thompson, PhD, who lives in the Boston area.
More about Michael Thompson...
The child psychologist is Michael Thompson, PhD, who lives in the Boston area.
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