What a Difference a Mom Makes , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Kevin Leman Dr.

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137 pages

English

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Every mom wants the best for her son. She wants him to succeed in life, to be a man of character, to find a good woman, to be a great dad. But sometimes boys are hard for moms to understand. Sometimes they're strange, annoying, and downright disgusting! Yet always they need a mother who is engaged and interested in them, because a mom is the most important person in a boy's life.In What a Difference a Mom Makes, New York Times bestselling author Dr. Kevin Leman uses his wit and wisdom to show Mom how to lay the groundwork that will allow her son to grow into a good man. Armed with Dr. Leman's expert advice and insight, Mom will gain an understanding of her boy at every stage, from that very first diaper change to the moment he leaves for college. Dr. Leman shows how to discipline a boy, how to command respect, how to let him fight his own battles, how to understand his sexuality, and how to weather the changes in the mother-son relationship as he grows up. Most of all, Leman shows Mom how to lighten up and have some fun along the way with that boy who will always have her heart.

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 septembre 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441213099
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0461€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2012 by Kevin Leman
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-1309-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Living Bible , copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
To protect the privacy of those who have shared their stories with the author, some details and names have been changed.
The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.
Mom: Do you want the best for your son? Do you hope that he’ll succeed in life? Do you wish you understood boys better? (After all, you didn’t have any brothers, or if you did, you sure didn’t understand them either.) Are there times your son thinks so differently from you that you’re not quite sure how to relate or respond? Does his “maleness” sometimes disturb, annoy, or disgust you? Do you long for him to have strong, healthy friendships and a good relationship with you when he leaves home? Do you hope to have a great daughter-in-law someday who can also be a friend? Do you hope your son will be a good daddy?
If these are your dreams and wishes for yourself and your son, What a Difference a Mom Makes is the book for you.
I guarantee it.
To my wonderful son, Kevin Anderson Leman II
I’d love to take credit for the great man you’ve turned out to be, but this book points out the obvious: Mom had a great deal more to do with it than I did. You’ve won six Emmys, you’re the head writer and an executive producer of the funniest daytime TV program, but what makes me proudest is the respect and care you show to others, your humble nature, your faith in God, and your love for your family.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Note to Mom
Dedication
Acknowledgments 13
Introduction: Boys Will Be Boys Always 15
You panic. “I don’t know a thing about boys!” Ah, but you will.
1. Your Boy Doesn’t Need to Wear a Skirt (But He Does Need a Good Dose of Femininity) 19
You, Mom, leave an indelible imprint on your child. Here’s why.
2. Planning Your Toddler’s Wedding 37
Want a boy who will be a great husband for your future daughter–in–law and a great father for your grandchildren? Here’s how. (By the way, did you know that you also play a large role in picking your future daughter–in–law?)
3. What Kind of Parent Are You? 61
What influenced you to become the parent you are? What’s your parenting style and how does that affect Little or Big Fletcher?
4. Understanding Fletcher 79
Why is Fletcher the way he is? Why do he and his siblings squabble? Here are the secrets to knowing when to step in and when to butt out and let them handle it.
5. Discipline That Works Every Time 101
Say no to those daily battles with your son with a no–fail plan.
6. Ages and Stages #1: From Infant and Toddler to Early School Age 125
Each step in the journey of growing up has its joys . . . and its challenges. Here’s how you can get off to a great start and make the best of this time of transition.
7. Ages and Stages #2: From Middle School to High School 145
Each step in the journey of growing up has its joys . . . and its challenges. Here’s how you can make the best of both and help your child step up to the plate on his own.
8. Guess What His Favorite Body Part Is 161
There’s no escaping our sex–laden world or a boy’s growing interest in sex. But how you respond to and address your son’s sexuality can make all the difference in his perspective.
9. Doormat, Dishrag, or Strong and Smart? 179
How do you treat yourself, Mom? And how do the men in your life treat you? Now’s the time to stand up for yourself for the sake of your son and his future relationships.
10. On Duty or MIA? 195
Does your son have an actively involved father or an emotionally or physically MIA daddy? Here’s what to do with each one.
11. Are You “Velcro Woman”? 213
You’re mighty, but you’re only one woman. So how can you juggle everything? Here are hints for sorting out what’s important from what’s not.
12. Your Someday Man 231
Someday the little boy with the bandaged knees and that mouthy, hormone–laden teenager will become a man. But the work you do now to capture his heart will pay off just wait and see.
Epilogue: Good Ol’ Mom 243
I’d never be where I am today if it weren’t for my mom, who believed in me despite all evidence to the contrary.
The Top 10 Countdown to Being an Awesome Mom 249
Notes 251
About Dr. Kevin Leman 255
Resources by Dr. Kevin Leman 257
Back Ads
Back Cover
Acknowledgments
T o my mother, May Leman, because I know firsthand what a difference moms can make in their son’s life.
To my dear wife, Mrs. Uppington, because I’ve seen the difference she’s made in our son’s life and so has the world.
To my editor, Ramona Cramer Tucker, who gets what boys of all ages including myself and her adventurous, fun-loving, go-for-the-goal husband, Jeff are about.
To my stellar Revell team, including Lonnie Hull DuPont, editor extraordinaire, and Jessica English, who fine-tunes my manuscripts to their brightest sheen.
Introduction
Boys Will Be Boys Always
You panic. “I don’t know a thing about boys!”
Ah, but you will.
Y ou’ve always dreamed of having that precious little daughter one who is a little replica of you. You dream of the close relationship you’ll have as mother and daughter, watching her taking her first step, buying her first tutu for her ballet recital, arranging her hair for her first date . . .
And then you show up at the doctor’s office for your sonogram.
“What’s that?” you say, pointing at a little something you can’t quite place on the blurry black-and-white image.
And the doc says, “That’s a penis.”
You frown, not understanding. “My daughter’s got a penis?” Then realization dawns. “A boy?”
Inside you start to panic. What do I do with a boy? I don’t know a thing about boys!
Ah, but you will.
Maybe you weren’t raised with any siblings, or at least with any brothers. Perhaps your dad was MIA, so you didn’t get much guy influence in your house. Or maybe you did have a brother, but you didn’t understand him then . . . or now.
Or perhaps you’re already thrown into the process of bringing up your boy. He might be an infant you recently birthed or adopted, and you’re congratulating yourself because you just figured out how to strategically place the Pampers so you don’t get those early-morning or late-night surprise showers when you change his diaper. Good for you! You’re on the road to success already.
Your son might be a toddler who has recently told you in that determined tone you know means business, “By self, Mom. I do it by self.”
Perhaps your son will soon be going off to preschool or kindergarten. You can’t help but think, My baby’s leaving the nest. Half of you looks forward to the break (and the quiet!), but the other half mourns your son going off somewhere anywhere without you.
Then there’s your nine-year-old, who used to be so close and affectionate but now is backing off a bit. He even asked you the other day to walk a few steps behind him and said, “ Please , Mom, don’t hug me in front of the guys.”
And your adolescent son? The one who eats cereal in a bowl you could put a bowling ball in? You’re a little tired of hearing a grunt and then a door slam in response to your “How was your day?” Picking up sweaty socks from his jungle of a bedroom isn’t your idea of a fun afternoon either.
Then there’s your high schooler. The one who shaves but doesn’t always use deodorant. Yeah, that one. The same one who gets annoyed when you do the “sniff test” before he walks out the door to school. Sometimes you wonder if you would matter in his life at all if you weren’t holding the car keys.
Let’s face it. There are times you’re really stumped about why your son does what he does. Why he says what he says. And what’s he really thinking? You haven’t got a clue. Sometimes your son is just such a . . . boy .
Boys and girls sure are different, aren’t they? I just saw five seventh-grade girls yesterday, talking nonstop and clustered together like a gaggle of geese. The seventh-grade boys? They were strutting like roosters single file behind those girls, acting cooler than cool, high-fiving each other every once in a while in a show of masculine bravado.
Then I caught a glimpse of the second and third graders on the playground. The girls all resembled a covey of quail, traveling in flocks, clucking and hugging. The boys? In the five minutes I watched, three of them were pushing and yelling right in each other’s faces, and two more were whacking each other hard on the shoulder. Another boy a little farther down the field got tackled by three other guys in a rough-and-tumble game of football.
Besides the easy-to-see physical trait differences, there are lots of emotional and mental differences too. As a girl yourself, you might not always understand your boy, but he’ll always be your boy . Your son is altogether different from you, but when it comes to him, you’re Mama Bear. May God help anyone who says anything negative about your little cub. They