"Bringing Up Boys" - Catholic version?

[newbie25553]

Hello,

I am a father of 3 young boys. I was recently given a book by Dr. James Dobson - “Bringing Up Boys” - which I am interested in reading. However, I am wondering if anyone is aware of a book on this same topic written from a Catholic perspective?

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[F_Marturana]

I like Greg Popcak books. Also ray guarendi is popular with many Catholic parents. I think both are pretty orthodox.

I’ve read one Dobson book. I personally didn’t like it.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

I’ve read one Dobson book. I personally didn’t like it.

One must be very careful with Dobson. He relies heavily on corporal punishment as a way to deal with situations when a child isn’t listening. In his book on strong-willed children, even the new additions keep in the part about him hitting a dog with a belt as well as it being appropriate for a toddler. I must admit, I’m biased because I think corporal punishment should only be used in life and death situations (hot stove, busy street, etc) but I also give room for a parent to parent. His words struck me as “king of my domain” and “I brought you into this world, I can take you out” and not very Christian at all.

 

[Jared2914]

F_Marturana:

I’ve read one Dobson book. I personally didn’t like it.

One must be very careful with Dobson. He relies heavily on corporal punishment as a way to deal with situations when a child isn’t listening. In his book on strong-willed children, even the new additions keep in the part about him hitting a dog with a belt as well as it being appropriate for a toddler. I must admit, I’m biased because I think corporal punishment should only be used in life and death situations (hot stove, busy street, etc) but I also give room for a parent to parent. His words struck me as “king of my domain” and “I brought you into this world, I can take you out” and not very Christian at all.

I agree that you have to be careful. When I was a teenager, my mother gave me a book by Dr. Dobson (don’t remember the name of it). Most of it was okay, but he actually said masturbation is just part of growing up for boys and nothing to worry about. Fortunately, I was catechized enough to know that was wrong, but there’s always a possibility that non-Catholic materials will lead a child astray. Maybe Dr. Dobson no longer believes this now. I don’t know. I guess the lesson is if you are going to use non-Catholic material, study it well yourself to make sure everything is in line with Catholic teaching before giving it to children.

 

[LoveTLM]

This isn’t a book, but it could be valuable for you nonetheless. It’s a lecture that Sensus Fidelium posted on YouTube several years ago. It’s called “How to Raise a Man” and Fr. Ripperger is the speaker. There is also a second video of the Q&A. Here are the links to both:

How to Raise a Man
How to Raise a Man Q&A

I second Dr. Greg Popcak and Dr. Ray Guarendi.

 

[po18guy]

I immediately thought of Fr. Larry Richards, who stresses the importance of being a man in today’s world. Part of that is being a masculine, loving father. Here is a link to a article which translates manliness into exceptional fatherhood.