When your son responds to personal questions with a blank stare, or quickly changes the topic, you might chalk it up to “boys will be boys”--but still worry that something is missing in your relationship or troubling your child. You could be right on both counts. Whether your son needs to talk more, or just more effectively, this practical book will help you raise him to communicate and connect. Psychologist Adam Cox helps boys of all ages and their parents work together to overcome the innate brain differences, social pressures, guardedness, and learning and attention problems that often leave males at a communication disadvantage. With Dr. Cox's expert guidance, you can identify the camouflage boys use to deflect attention and learn useful ways to foster self-expression--from engaging preschoolers in imaginative wordplay to using creative conversation starters with sullen teenagers.
This acclaimed picture book from two award-winning creators about connecting across generational and language differences shows that sometimes you don't need words to find common ground. When a young boy visits his grandfather, their lack of a common language leads to confusion, frustration, and silence. But as they sit down to draw together, something magical happens -- with a shared love of art and storytelling, the two form a bond that goes beyond words. With spare text by Minh Lê and luminous illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat, this stirring story about reaching across barriers will be cherished for years to come. "A beautifully told and illustrated story about a grandson and grandfather struggling to communicate across divides of language, age and culture." --- Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize winner Don't miss LIFT, also by Minh Lê and Dan Santat!
“Thompson captures the ache, fizz, yearning and frustration of being the father of adolescent boys.” —Michael Chabon “What a riveting, touching, and painful read!” —Maria Semple “Fun, moving, raw, and relatable.” —Tony Hawk What makes a good father, and what makes one a failure? Does less-is-more parenting inspire independence and strength, or does it encourage defiance and trouble? Kickflip Boys is the story of a father’s struggle to understand his willful skateboarder sons, challengers of authority and convention, to accept his role as a vulnerable “skate dad,” and to confront his fears that the boys are destined for an unconventional and potentially fraught future. With searing honesty, Neal Thompson traces his sons’ progression through all the stages of skateboarding: splurging on skate shoes and boards, having run-ins with security guards, skipping classes and defying teachers, painting graffiti, drinking and smoking, and more. As the story veers from funny to treacherous and back, from skateparks to the streets, Thompson must confront his complicity and fallibility. He also reflects on his upbringing in rural New Jersey, and his own adventures with skateboards, drugs, danger, and defiance. A story of thrill-seeking teens, of hope and love, freedom and failure, Kickflip Boys reveals a sport and a community that have become a refuge for adolescent boys who don’t fit in. Ultimately, it’s the survival story of a loving modern American family, of acceptance, forgiveness, and letting go.
“If you’re raising a boy, you need this brilliant book. It is clear, wise, and eye-opening.” —Lisa Damour, Ph.D., author of Untangled When boys enter puberty, they tend to get quiet—or at least quieter than before—and parents often misread their signals. Here’s how to navigate their retreat and steer them through this confusing passage, by the bestselling author of The Care and Keeping of You series and Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys. What is my son doing behind his constantly closed door? What’s with his curt responses, impulsiveness, newfound obsession with gaming, and . . . that funky smell? As pediatrician and mother of two teenagers Cara Natterson explains, puberty starts in boys long before any visible signs appear, and that causes confusion about their changing temperaments for boys and parents alike. Often, they also grow quieter as they grow taller, which leads to less parent-child communication. But, as Natterson warns in Decoding Boys, we respect their increasing “need” for privacy, monosyllabic conversations, and alone time at their peril. Explaining how modern culture mixes badly with male adolescent biology, Natterson offers science, strategies, scripts, and tips for getting it right: • recognizing the first signs of puberty and talking to our sons about the wide range of “normal” through the whole developmental process • why teenagers make irrational decisions even though they look mature—and how to steer them toward better choices • managing video game and screen time, including discussing the unrealistic and dangerous nature of pornography • why boys need emotional and physical contact with parents—and how to give it in ways they’ll accept • how to prepare boys to resist both old and new social pressures—drugs, alcohol, vaping, and sexting • teaching consent and sensitivity in the #MeToo culture Decoding Boys is a powerful and validating lifeline, a book that will help today’s parents keep their sons safe, healthy, and resilient, as well as ensure they will become emotionally secure young men. Praise for Decoding Boys “Comforting . . . a common-sensical and gently humorous exploration of male puberty's many trials.”—Kirkus Reviews
A real pediatrician and the author of the bestselling Care & Keeping of You series provides tips, how-tos, and facts about boys' changing bodies that will help them take care of themselves. Full color.
In 1863, 12-year-old Will, who longs to be a drummer in the Union army, is stuck in his sleepy hometown of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. But when the Union and Confederate armies meet, he and his family are caught up in the fight.
Learn the secret language of boys and how to reconnect All too quickly, talkative, affectionate young boys seem to slip away. Adolescents may be transformed overnight into reclusive, seemingly impenetrable young people who open up only to their friends and spend more time on devices than with family. How do you penetrate this shell before they are lost to you? Drawing on decades of experience garnered through thousands of hours of therapy with boys, Cracking the Boy Code explains how the key to communicating with boys is understanding their universal psychological needs and using specific, straightforward communication techniques. Coverage includes: Why it's important to understand the psychological needs of boys How to talk to be heard, and listen to understand The crucial role of non-verbal cues Learning the universal tone that helps boys listen Motivating boys to become their authentic selves Using purposeful work to teach boys self-respect and confidence Reducing stress and creating greater closeness between boys and caregivers. Essential reading for parents, caregivers, teachers, youth workers, coaches, and others who want to make a real connection with the boys in their lives.
“Shelby and her art are extremely my shit. You need this book.” —Samantha Irby, New York Times bestselling author of We Are Never Meeting in Real Life “The rare Instagram-turned-book that actually works.” —Jezebel A wickedly funny illustrated look at living and dating in a patriarchal culture that celebrates men for displaying the bare minimum of human decency Surely you’re familiar with good boys. They’re the ones who put “feminist” in their Tinder bio but talk over you the entire date. They ghost you, but they feel momentarily guilty. They once read a book by a woman author. (It was required, but they thought it was “okay.”) And of course, they bravely condemn sexual harassment (except when the perpetrator is their buddy Chad). This book explores why so-called and self-proclaimed good boys are actually not so great, breaking down our obsession with celebrating male mediocrity and rewarding those who clear the very low bar of not being outwardly awful. Through clever illustrations and written vignettes, Awards for Good Boys makes literal the tendency to applaud men for doing the absolute least and offers hilarious and cathartic cultural commentary through which we may begin to unravel our own assumptions about gender roles and how we treat each other, both on and offline.
Now in PDF The ultimate book of things to make, play, create and do...and it's boys only! Welcome to the club - The Boys' Book of Things To Make is the ultimate compendium of making models, games, quizzes and puzzles, and it's all perfect for active boys. With over 150 amazing projects there is enough here to keep busy bodies occupied all year long. This is the book to crush rainy-day blues, with monster puppets, DIY crazy golf, pirate games and garden olympics; boredom is not an option. Split into three sections - things to make, things to do and things to know; The Boys' Book of Things To Make is a good source of information as well as fun. So whether your child is into gluing and painting, making their own pin-hole camera, quizzes and trivia, or even making their own slime - look no further.
