Books for Boys

[treehugginmama]

Does anyone have an suggestions for a book about boys growing up? I've seen tons for girls and none for boys. My mom never discussed growing up with me and I really think it caused some issues. I don't want that for my boys. My oldest DS is turning 10 :gulp on Friday and I think I should probably start talking to him about body changes. He loves to read so I thought a book would be great for both of us.

[rgarlough]

I checked out "What's Happening to My Body" For boys from the library. I liked what I saw when I skimmed through it. Frank talk about body changes, exercise, eating well, a bit on what's happening to girls as well.

I also appreciated that it had a lot of info, unbiased at that, about Intact vs Circ. Talked about fuction of foreskin, plenty of drawings and its an important aspect for DSS since he was circ'd and he is aware of some differences but in appearance only. Dh has never talked to him about it. DSS hasn't ever asked me about the differences between him and Mason. And I don't want to embarass or humilate him since I am not his mother and I wasn't able to make any decisions on his behalf when he was an infant.

[mamato2boys]

I like "What's Happening to My Body? Book For Boys" too. I've seen others that don't discuss intact penises, or all the drawings represect circ'd penises, so I was really happy to see that this book discusses the function of the foreskin and how a intact penis changes during puberty. The book contains info on puberty in girls, sex, birth control, acne, masturbation, growth spurts etc. There is a ton of info in the book, at 10 your son may not "need" all the info yet, but it's not inappropriate either IMO. A lot of the reviews on amazon say that it's more appropriate for older teens, but I think boys need this info way earlier than that. We've always been really open with our boys about sex, maybe that's why I don't think that book is "too informative" for younger boys. My newly 9yo has looked through the book. I directed him to a bit of info (he's starting to get stinky pits, and had some questions about sperm) He read a bit of the book, but wasn't interested yet in all the info.

We have it laying around so he can look at it when he has Q's.

[treehugginmama]

Thanks! I'll check the library.