Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction: Joining Together to Raise Strong, Loving Christian Sons

Part I: The Inside Story
Understanding the Divine Design at Work in Your Boy’s Life
1 Our Sons Need a New Approach to Boyhood
2 Boys Develop Differently Than Girls
3 What a Boy Learns from Mom
4 What a Boy Learns from Dad

Part II: Putting It to Work
Designing Your Son’s Journey to Manhood
5 Building a HERO
6 Building Character and Self-Discipline Effectively
7 Protecting and Supporting a Boy’s Emotional Life
8 Developing Healthy Sexuality in Boys and Young Men
9 Helping Our Sons Do Their Best in School
10 Measuring the Impact of Technology
11 Providing Our Sons with Healthy Rites of Passage into Manhood
12 The Journey of Faith and a New Vision of Christian Manhood

Acknowledgments
Notes and Resources
Bibliography

About the Author

Gregory Jantz, PhD, is a nationally certified psychologist and licensed mental health counselor, a certified eating disorder specialist, and a certified chemical dependency counselor. Author of more than sixteen books and popular speaker, Dr. Jantz brings his whole-person vision of hope to audiences around the country through speaking, seminars, conferences, radio, and television. Some of his recent books include Happy for the Rest of Your Life; Healing the Scars of Emotional Abuse; Every Woman's Guide To Managing Your Anger and Hope, Help, and Healing for Eating Disorders. Michael Gurian is a therapist and educator who has worked extensively with families, school districts, churches, and criminal justice agencies. Big Brothers and Big Sisters use his training videos for parents and volunteers, and thousands in the U.S. and Canada have attended his seminars. He is founder, with Pat Henley, of the Michael Gurian Institute at the University of Missouri-Kansas, as well as the Institute's leading educator and consultant. He lives in Spokane, Washington.

Reviews

Praise for Raising Boys by Design

“Raising Boys by Design is a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable read. It’s marvelously inspiring, well thought out, and academically supported, but it’s also an intuitive guide to raising boys. Every parent, teacher, and grandparent could benefit from this work.”
—Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Marriage and Sacred Parenting

“Blending biblical truth with brain science, Raising Boys by Design is truly a ground-breaking resource that offers much-needed insights for guiding boys toward health and success in every area of life.”
—Tim Clinton, PhD, president of the American Association of Christian Counselors and executive director of the Center for Counseling and Family Studies at Liberty University

“Raising boys in today’s world is no easy task. We need to understand how boys process their emotions and deal with bullying, peer pressure, technology and other important issues—all of which are covered here. This must-read resource helps equip families to raise sons who will be well adjusted and heroes for life.”
—Linda Mintle, PhD, author of Raising Healthy Kids in an Unhealthy World

“We live in a society where it’s dangerous to be a normal, rambunctious, healthy boy. High energy is labeled hyperactive, competitiveness to excel is deemed selfish, and single-mindedness in completion of a task is considered insensitive. Society’s constant attack on normal maleness instills a destructive insecurity and sense of inferiority into countless thousands of otherwise normal healthy men. Raising Boys by Design brilliantly exposes this destructive trend while providing meaningful insights and applicable solutions. If you want to protect your sons from the corrosive effects of today’s world and empower them to become men after God’s own heart, then this book is for you.”
—Timothy R. Jennings, MD, author of The God-Shaped Brain, president-elect of the Tennessee Psychiatric Association, and chairman, board of regents, of the Southern Psychiatric Association

“Raising Boys by Design is a clearly written and helpful book that integrates biblical truth and findings from brain science to enable sons to thrive as they grow up into adulthood.”
—Siang-Yang Tan, PhD, professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary and author of Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Christian Perspective

“I can’t think of two better men to tackle one of the most compelling issues of the twenty-first century: how to raise our sons into Christ-empowered men. Backed by brain-science research, the Bible, personal experience, and a passion to impact boys, Gregg and Michael have created a playbook for Christian parents that will equip them to call their boys to follow Jesus into HEROIC manhood. If you have a son, a grandson, or a significant boy in your life, you will want to have this book by your side as you guide him on his journey to manhood.”
—Tim Wright, pastor of Community of Grace in Peoria, Arizona, and author of Searching for Tom Sawyer: How Parents and Congregations Can Stop the Exodus of Boys from Church

“I wish I’d had this book when my three boys were young. Chapter 2 is worth the cost of the whole book. A must-read for every parent, this even has great material for raising girls!”
—David Stoop, PhD, author and psychologist

Praise for the Work of Michael Gurian

“There is no one who understands the development of boys better than Michael Gurian.”
—William Damon, PhD, professor of education at Stanford University and author of The Moral Child

“Michael Gurian is America’s most passionate advocate for boys.”
—Michael Thompson, PhD, author of It’s a Boy! and co-author of Raising Cain