Laura Lee Groves celebrates all the reasons that boys — for all their wild, crazy, messy, rambunctious ways — are a wonderful blessing to parent. She does not gloss over the challenges, and her book is, in fact, full of excellent ideas for handling the challenges as they arise (and even for forestalling a few of them). But it is obvious throughout that she respects her sons as young men in the making, and that she loves them for who they are, despite the chaos that follows in their wake.
Biblically based and well-researched, I’m Outnumbered gives a Christian mom advice on topics from chores to communication, and from toddler tantrums to technology. There is even a special section specifically to encourage and help single mothers, and a separate word for fathers, addressing how they can help their wife in each stage of their sons’ development. The recommended reading listed most of the usual Christian standbys, but also included a few less-common gems.
For mothers who want a better understanding of their sons, or for mothers who are feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of testosterone running around their homes, this book provides information and encouragement that is easy to read and easy to implement. It includes much of the traditional Christian outlook, but takes the time to debunk a few of the more harmful or unpleasant myths about boys along the way.
(I received a review copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.)