Raising Chaste Catholic Men: Practical Advice, Mom to Mom

by Leila Miller

Anxiety among Catholic mothers is sky high. How do we teach our sons to be chaste when a sex-obsessed culture is ready to drag our boys into the pit at every turn? All we want to do is protect the innocence of our little ones and the honor of our teens, yet the snares of ubiquitous porn, hook-up sex, LGBT ideology, and the devaluing of true manhood appear unavoidable. What’s a mother to do?

Relax, grab your beverage of choice, and flip open Raising Chaste Catholic Men. In this little heart-to-heart between us girls (although the guys can listen in, too) Leila Miller will take your hand and calm your fears by giving you practical advice in simple terms, based on her 25 years of experience in raising eight children, six of them sons. Some of the serious topics addressed with good humor and no fear

•Three basic rules for parenting
•What to do when boys are little
•Answering the culture’s accusations
•Straight talk about masturbation
•Navigating pop culture
•What to do when things go wrong
•Advice from chaste young men themselves

...and much more, all of it designed to bring your worried heart some peace by giving you a plan of action and the power tools to pull it off. So, trust God and dive in! You’ve got good men to raise, and the world needs them!

Genres: Parenting, Catholic, Faith, Nonfiction, Religion

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 27, 2016

About the author

Leila Miller is a wife and mother of eight children who has a penchant for writing and a passion for teaching the Catholic Faith in simple ways. This summa cum laude Boston College graduate also enjoys debating secularists, and in her spare time she fancies herself a bit of a Catholic matchmaker. She manages two blogs that accommodate those hobbies well: Little Catholic Bubble, and the invite-only Catholic Moms Matchmaking.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really excellent book. It is unapologetically Catholic, but most of it is applicable to just about any Christian family. It truly feels like a coffee date with the wise mentor mom. It is extremely practical, theologically sound, and very friendly.

[Clarissa I. Kuhns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book!

As a mother of three young boys who is petrified of today's culture, this book is perfect in giving me direction and not "freaking out"

[Anna Mussmann]

Some good, common-sense advice, and some advice (like that on becoming a saint) that's a bit too Roman Catholic for me.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so happy that Leila wrote this book! I have loved her no-nonsense, logical writing style ever since discovering her blog. My son is 17 but even so, this book is relevant to our family. It will enable us to have some great conversations with our son before he leaves home. She tackles topics including gay marriage, pornography, masturbation, pop culture, how boys today are being trained OUT of manhood and not into it (and what to do about it), and a section of advise from chaste young men. I really found it encouraging and refreshing to have such a concise and logical mini-apologia for all these issues. She writes specifically to Catholic mommas but honestly, its required reading for my husband as well.

I downloaded this book to Kindle but feel its so valuable that I ordered two paperback copies - one for me and one to lend. There really are not enough resources that take a Catholic perspective on this topic, so I highly recommend adding this to your home library.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great, easy to read, book. It contains confirmation of why chastity is important and has an added bonus, tips from someone who lived them, on how to keep our boys chaste. I have to admit I really appreciated the chapter on how important it is to raise our boys to be men. A great resource.

[The Springtime Catholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has good information, but it’s definitely geared towards parents (especially mothers) who truly have no clue where to start. Most of the information in this book is either about why we believe what we believe as Catholics, which is good for those uninformed, or practical advice. Although I found the practical advice to be rather obvious (I think any well-formed and truly Catholic parent can reach these conclusions), I would definitely recommend this book to any mother of boys that is very uncertain of how to approach the topics of sex, chastity, and holy manhood.

But if you’re a parent who already has a basic grasp on how to approach this (in a healthy, holy way), it probably won’t provide any new ideas or information.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good non apologetic stuff in here, not perfect but really helpful. The afterword by Esolen is weird though.... it's just him apologizing for something ridiculous he'd written, and then advising boys to tell themselves that their sexual feelings are "stupid"......uhhhh, no. I sort of get his point, but this is not helpful, not TRUE TOB. I am not a fan of his though, so I criticize almost everything he says.

[Cassandra Spellman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miller approaches this topic with a warm, conversational, and humble tone. She explains chastity in an encouraging manner and defends the Church’s teaching on various related topics in a way that’s useful for presenting to children/teens. I particularly enjoyed the chapter where Miller quotes young men describing their experiences with and advice for living and defending chastity.

[Viviana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great support pillar for Catholic parents who already have a strong foundation. It will remind and reinforce what will help you raise virtuous children. Well written but nothing you won’t have heard before!

[NOD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insights and some very good down-to-earth humble advice and encouragement. I'd recommend for to any Catholic raising boys. The afterword by Anthony Esolen was fab!

[Elizabeth Rozman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, I enjoyed the conversational tone of this book & will look into the suggested titles.

[Marcelo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Simplesmente não gostei da escrita. Culpa da tradução? Talvez não. Achei que o tema foi abordado de maneira superficial.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, I just wish it had more.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book. Just about every question I've had as a mom raising boys is at least touched upon in this book. The conversational writing really made it seem as though Leila were sitting down with me and sharing her wisdom. While his book is written for Catholic moms I really feel every mom or dad trying to raise their boys up to be true men can benefit from this wonderful read! Thank you Leila for tackling some of the tough stuff and sharing with all of us!

[Christi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-read for Catholic moms

Like a conversation with your holiest friend! A huge dose of encouragement to those of us in the trenches. Leila makes it seem possible to do it right with lots of practical advice. She tells us everything we know already, but our modern life tells us to forget! Recommend it to moms of littles to start now with preparation in place.

[Michelle Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! Very approachable and easy to read. As I read, I kept thinking yes this is true and the way I want to parent. A good source of encouragement and written by a woman whose parenting style I strongly identified with.

I love how she encourages the idea of being both a parent AND a friend but always being sure you actually are doing your role as the parent. One great point was, when the child starts to change (negatively) make a change in how you parent that child. I agreed with many of her points on how to navigate our current culture, they are very similar to what my husband and I have discussed and started to implement with our kids (all still under the age of 8).

It is encouraging to read this book and truely felt like a good chat with a trusted more experienced mom friend. I love how she includes a recommended reading for the various topics covered at the end of the book (it's a good sign a book aligns well with your views when the recommended reading is stocked with books on your read or to read list 😉)!