Toggle navigation

About Boy Mom

This guidebook, packed with wisdom, practical advice, resources, and encouragement, explores how moms can equip their sons with what they most need to succeed in life.

Monica Swanson knew she'd tapped a heartfelt concern when nearly two million readers shared her blog post "What a Teenage Boy Needs Most from His Mom." In this helpful book, she takes mothers deeper into the insights they need for the boy-raising journey, covering topics from dealing with the daily influences of friends and technology to helping a boy grow to be physically, spiritually, and emotionally healthy. She also addresses learning and finding passions, perspectives on relationships and dating, and work ethics and money management. Each chapter features relatable stories, handy checklists, and practical advice based on a combination of research, experience, and biblical truth to guide and equip a mom in helping her son achieve his God-given potential.

Praise for Boy Mom

“In Boy Mom Monica Swanson offers readers practical advice and resounding hope that parenting our sons well through all seasons is not only possible but also enjoyable. This book is like an essential trail guide that I’ll refer to again and again in the beautiful and challenging adventure of motherhood.”—Becky Keife, author of No Better Mom for the Job and mom of three spirited boys

“Monica Swanson is the friend we all need in our lives: humble, straightforward, warm, full of wisdom, and short on nonsense—and she knows her stuff like no one else. In Boy Mom she holds the bar high yet is forthcoming about her own struggles and imperfections. Inside these pages you’ll find deeply rooted biblical and practical advice along with calls to action when you don’t know where to start. The Boy Mom Manifesto at the end will not only inspire you but also make your heart swell.”—Kate Merrick, author of Here, Now: Unearthing Peace and Presence in an Overconnected World

“Monica Swanson is the ultimate Boy Mom mentor. While her perspective on parenting is grounded in biblical wisdom, each chapter holds excellent practical tools for how to work out that wisdom on a daily basis in our homes. Of course, we know there aren’t formulas that will ensure we get it all right, but we also know that gleaning wisdom from women who have gone before us (and are still in the trenches with us) is invaluable in the wonderful adventure of helping boys become all God created them to be.”—Jeannie Cunnion, author of Mom Set Free

Praise

Boy Mom is packed with relevant insights and practical advice to help parents intentionally raise young men of character, honor, and strength. Parents today face unprecedented challenges, and Monica’s heartfelt encouragement as a mom in the trenches is timely for a generation that longs for moral direction.”—Kari Kampakis, mom of four girls and author of 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know 
 
“All who are parents, especially Boy Moms, will devour this book! Monica Swanson shares from her experience of raising four boys. Her transparency, candor, tears, and prayers have led to a book full of wisdom and incredible insight into what a boy needs to reach his destiny.”—Stephanie Fast, fellow Boy Mom, author of She Is Mine, speaker, and advocate for vulnerable children 
 
“Every time I told my dad I was pregnant with another boy, he responded with ‘That’s wonderful! The world needs more godly men.’ I couldn’t agree more. Thankfully, Monica has written a guide to help you partner with God to raise these needed men of character. In the pages of Boy Mom, you will find a wise mentor who understands the challenge of energetic boys and points you to truth and resources to help you be the kind of Boy Mom you want to be.”—Heather MacFadyen, mom of four boys and creator and host of the Don’t Mom Alone podcast 
 
“As a Boy Dad, this is the book I’ve been searching for. These are the wise words of a fun friend, written clearly enough to provide a blueprint for success in parenting and accessibly enough that I don’t feel alone in the journey. Through Boy Mom Monica is helping me become a better dad.”—Roger Thompson, author of We Stood Upon Stars 
 
“Monica Swanson casts a profoundly inspiring vision for the lives of our boys and the depth of our role as Boy Moms in shaping who they become. Each chapter is well researched, informative, and brimming with invaluable advice, strategies, and insight that left me feeling more capable than ever to help my sons live healthy, curiosity-­driven, Jesus-­centered lives. Perhaps the most powerful endorsement of this book is my personal testimony: it works! In just a few short weeks, I have seen my relationships with my ‘gentlemen in training’ grow in respect, communication, and trust—and the same goes for their relationships with their sister and father.”—Hoku Clements, recording artist known for “Perfect Day” and “Another Dumb Blonde,” as well as the albumCalled by Name

Featured Videos

Book Trailer: BOY MOM by Monica Swanson

Product Details

240 pages | Published by WaterBrook

On Sale Date: Aug 6, 2019

Trim Size: 5-1/2 x 8-1/4

Carton Quantity: 24

Sneak Peek

Read the first two chapters of Boy Mom. This guidebook, packed with wisdom, practical advice, resources, and encouragement, explores how moms can equip their sons with what they most need to succeed in life. Monica Swanson knew she'd tapped a heartfelt concern when nearly two million readers shared her blog post "What a Teenage Boy Needs Most from His Mom." In this helpful book, she takes mothers deeper into the insights they need for the boy-raising journey, covering topics from dealing with the daily influences of friends and technology to helping a boy grow to be physically, spiritually, and emotionally healthy. She also addresses learning and finding passions, perspectives on relationships and dating, and work ethics and money management. Each chapter features relatable stories, handy checklists, and practical advice based on a combination of research, experience, and biblical truth to guide and equip a mom in helping her son achieve his God-given potential.

Press Release

Viral Motherhood Blogger Offers an Essential Field-Tested Handbook
to Parenting Sons with Purpose
 
“Every time I told my dad I was pregnant with another boy, he responded with ‘That’s wonderful! The world needs more godly men.’ I couldn’t agree more. Thankfully, Monica has written a guide to help you partner with God to raise these needed men of character. In the pages of Boy Mom, you will find a wise mentor who understands the challenge of energetic boys and points you to truth and resources to help you be the kind of Boy Mom you want to be.”
Heather MacFadyen, mom of four boys and creator and host of the Don’t Mom Alone podcast
 
When author and blogger Monica Swanson watched as her blog post “What a Teenage Boy Needs Most from His Mom” was shared by nearly two million readers in just over a week, she knew she had struck a chord with moms across the world.
 
Now, with Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You (WaterBrook; August 6, 2019), she blends her wisdom from raising four boys in a fresh new way to provide a practical, comprehensive guide to parenting sons for the men they will become.
 
Swanson’s journey to becoming a voice of encouragement and inspiration to other moms began when her own boys were young and she felt overwhelmed by the pressure to parent perfectly. After a particularly exhausting moment when she fell into the trap of comparing herself to other moms, she decided to make a change. “I committed to becoming a purposeful, prayerful mom, bravely choosing not to listen to every message that bombarded me but to instead focus on the few things that mattered most,” she writes. “I determined to set my aim on the future men I was raising and on how I might equip them to get there.”
 
Swanson began blogging about her Boy Mom experience, and eight years later, her readers and fellow moms are still clamoring for more advice, more insight, and more stories. The goal of Boy Mom, she explains, is to help moms embrace their roles with joy and confidence. “I want to equip you, encourage you, and inspire you to do that upstream parenting. I promise it’s not more work; it’s intentional work. It’s parenting with purpose.”
 
Boy Mom is the ideal handbook for growing honorable, kind, and confident sons. Along with insights from Swanson’s personal experiences, she offers biblical wisdom and compelling research as she sheds light on several key aspects of raising boys:

   • Balancing boundaries and freedoms
   • Instilling character and self-discipline
   • Navigating technology and entertainment
   • Nurturing a life of faith
   • Encouraging healthy eating habits and exercise
   • Teaching the value of hard work and money management 

Special features include links to downloadable material, practical applications at the end of each chapter, reflection questions, and the Boy Mom Manifesto.

Readers will be left with confidence and clarity about the things that matter most in raising their sons. They will be equipped with resources and checklists. They will feel like they are not alone and be encouraged that they have what it takes to raise a great son.
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Monica Swanson is the author of Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You and popular blogger who has contributed to the Today show website, Huffington Post, and The MOB Mothers of Boys Society. Host of the Boy Mom podcast, Monica enjoys speaking at women’s events and has been interviewed in numerous media outlets including the Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey and Don’t Mom Alone podcasts. Monica and her doctor-husband have one son in college and homeschool the other three. They reside on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii where they enjoy growing tropical fruit and supporting their sons’ competitive surfing. Visit her at https://monicaswanson.com/
https://www.instagram.com/monicaswanson_/
https://www.facebook.com/TheGrommom/
https://twitter.com/thegrommom


Praise for Boy Mom:
“Monica Swanson is the ultimate Boy Mom mentor. While her perspective on parenting is grounded in biblical wisdom, each chapter holds excellent practical tools for how to work out that wisdom on a daily basis in our homes. Of course, we know there aren’t formulas that will ensure we get it all right, but we also know that gleaning wisdom from women who have gone before us (and are still in the trenches with us) is invaluable in the wonderful adventure of helping boys become all God created them to be. What a privilege it is to be a Boy Mom, and Monica is just the right woman to help us do it intentionally and without the pressure of perfection.”
—Jeannie Cunnion, author of Mom Set Free
 
“For years moms have asked me for resources to help them raise sons, and I’ve pointed them to Monica Swanson’s blog. Now I’m thrilled to have a book that compiles her best wisdom! Boy Mom is packed with relevant insights and practical advice to help parents intentionally raise young men of character, honor, and strength. Parents today face unprecedented challenges, and Monica’s heartfelt encouragement as a mom in the trenches is timely for a generation that longs for moral direction.”
—Kari Kampakis, mom of four girls and author of 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know
 
“All who are parents, especially Boy Moms, will devour this book! Monica Swanson shares from her experience of raising four boys. Her transparency, candor, tears, and prayers have led to a book full of wisdom and incredible insight into what a boy needs to reach his destiny.”
—Stephanie Fast, fellow Boy Mom, author of She Is Mine, speaker, and advocate for vulnerable children
 
“Monica Swanson is the friend we all need in our lives: humble, straightforward, warm, full of wisdom, and short on nonsense—and she knows her stuff like no one else. In Boy Mom she holds the bar high yet is forthcoming about her own struggles and imperfections. Inside these pages you’ll find deeply rooted biblical and practical advice along with calls to action when you don’t know where to start. The Boy Mom Manifesto at the end will not only inspire you but also make your heart swell. I can’t think of a better mentor for Boy Moms. This book is your golden opportunity to learn from Monica’s years of experience. Settle in and get the help you need to raise your sons with confidence.”
—Kate Merrick, author of Here, Now: Unearthing Peace and Presence in an Overconnected World

Parenting
On sale: August 6, 2019
ISBN: 9780525652717 · Trade Paperback · $15.99 / $21.99 Canada
e-Book ISBN 9780525652724 · $11.99 / $13.99 Canada

Contact Publicist

Brett Benson