Raising a son has never felt more complicated.
Boys are growing up in a world very different from the one their fathers knew. That means dads today are trying to guide their sons through a version of childhood they never experienced themselves.
Of course, family still comes first, but its influence is constantly being challenged by phones and screens, friendship groups, school pressures, online communities and a relentless stream of messages telling boys exactly what a man should or shouldn't be.
For dads, that can make it hard to know when to step in, when to step back and how to stay close as your son's world expands. How do you set boundaries without controlling him? Help him handle difficult emotions without making every conversation feel like therapy? Protect him online without pushing him away? And prepare him for independence and a life of his own, while remaining the person he can always turn to?
12 Rules for Raising Boys is an honest, practical guide to the cultural, biological and digital forces shaping boyhood today. Drawing on expert insight from neuroscience, psychology, masculinity studies and child development, it shows fathers how to:
- build a stronger connection with their sons
- guide without controlling
- develop emotional strength and resilience
- navigate phones, friendships, sex and identity
- prepare boys for the freedoms and responsibilities of adult life
Joe Warner and Rob Kemp are two award-winning authors at very different stages of fatherhood. Together, they combine the immediacy of raising a young son today with the perspective gained from more than two decades of experience. They give dads the knowledge, language and confidence to understand their boys better and help them grow into strong, kind and confident young men.
