Fellow boy moms, this episode is for you! This chat with Monica Swanson another mom of four boys and author of the new book Boy Mom dives into a lot of your questions about how to raise your boys to be godly men. 

We talk about encouraging strong friendships between brothers, teaching boys to be strong AND gentle, and about the importance of giving our sons ways to experience excitement and adventure while getting some of their natural aggression out in safe physical activities.

“I am a big believer that boys were made for adventure that they need to have some excitement in their lives I think is just how God wired them. They're little warriors who need to experience some thrills. A lot of the trouble boys can get into is related to when they're lacking authentic adventure, when they're not facing challenges and overcoming obstacles.”

Monica has two boys out of high school and two still in the nest, so she offers a lot of hope for those of us in the trenches of parenting to keep pressing into relationship with our sons and to make the practicals of faith an anchor in all that we do. 

“God is so big and so powerful and he can move mountains on behalf of your son. He wants your son's heart more than you even know. We get our boys plugged in everywhere we can. We want them to have so many positive spiritual models in their life that there's no denying that God is the best way to go. It about coming alongside them and saying, ‘This is for your best. God is for you. Let's walk this life with him.’”

What we chat about:

• Monica’s four boys and working with very different personalities 
• Building healthy brother relationships and dealing with kids who hit
• Boys need to let out their energy with exercise and physical activity
• Setting healthy boundaries for your kids with manners and learning to laugh with them about it too
• Teaching boys how to balance strength and kindness by pointing them to the stories of godly men
• The power of shoulder to shoulder conversations with boys and why to keep pressing into conversation with them
• Motivating boys to get excited about school and finding hobbies and interests
• Ideas for how to foster adventure for your boys and learning not to parent from a place of fear
• Fostering faith in your sons through time in the Word, prayer and modeling