I've noticed most of the reviews of this book done by women blast it.
If you perceive yourself as more enlightened, feminist, liberal, pro-gay (or at least pro-gay agenda), then you're probably not going to like this book. Why? Because the truth hurts.

As a man who grew up without a significant father figure, this book is pretty accurate about the stuff kids raised without a dad deal with. ...Including sexual orientation struggles (it may be somewhat genetic, but most of it isn't, and our external behavior is our choice).

While the material is a bit out of date (I read it in early 2015), I think it still holds true. He brings up a lot of good points. There's a lot of research done to the point it's almost too much.

I just finished reading this book by Dr. Dobson. And if you're a parent of a boy or a grandparent, aunt, or uncle of one, I recommend reading it. I have a high regard for Dr. Dobson and this book sheds light on what makes boys tick and how you as their parent or loved one can raise them to be strong Godly men.

I admit some of the points in the book had me saying "oh, this is gonna be way too hard, how can I handle it?" But Dobson does give a message of hope. And you know what, being a parent is hard, raising Godly children in this world is extremely difficult, but we have Christ to guide us in that journey. No, I can't do it on my own or with the help of my husband even; but I can do it with Christ. And that's the point that Dr. Dobson drives home. God would not have entrusted us with raising these brilliant little men if He did not think we were up to the task.

Bringing Up Boys is a quick read that's chock full of information and I know I'll be using it as a reference in the years to come.

This book is an excellent resource for parents who care about what is best for their children which is not always what is best for the parents.
Dr. Dobson lays out facts, anecdotes, and personal experience that clearly define the needs of boys, especially in today's society.
I highly recommend this book.

Should be zero stars. As he has in past books (Life on the Edge). Dobson advises parents from his overtly conservative, Christian stance. A notable Christian activist, powerfully connected right-winger, and founder and president of Focus on the Family, he has written a work with seemingly good intentions: "If you are honest, trustworthy, caring, loving, self-disciplined, and God-fearing, your boys will be influenced by those traits as they age.... So much depends on what they observe in you," True enough. His underlying arguments, however, are peculiarly mean-spirited. Any outsider who threatens traditional family values comes under fierce attack. Most early feminists, for example, "were never married, didn't like children, and deeply resented men, yet they advised millions of women about how to raise their children and, especially, how to produce healthy boys." Dobson also avows that gays suffer from a "disorder." Clearly, the titular advice and encouragement serve Dobson's agenda. While this book is appropriate for certain religious collections, readers should exercise caution; there are Christian parenting titles (e.g., William Sears, M.D., & Martha Sears's The Complete Book of Christian Parenting and Child Care, Broadman & Holman, 1997) that don't polemicize and defame as does this.

Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.

This is my second read through. The first time was when my oldest son was a baby, so probably 6ish years ago? I listened to it on audio this time. I love Dr. Dobson and feel like he is so wise. I so appreciate the "Focus on the Family" ministry he has created. It has a good overall idea of some of the difficulties in our culture against our boys. I did feel like it was a little bleak as I listened this time. I think I'm more familiar with the topics he was talking about so nothing seemed "new", but definitely some good reminders. Although kind of depressing... I think also I was hoping for some more practical "how to's" and that was not the feel of this book.

I do find other reviews annoying that complain about the Christian influence of Dr. Dobson. He started a Christian ministry, it is published by a Christian publisher. He does not hide at all that this book is written from a Christian worldview. If you aren't interested in that, it is probably not the book for you!

Wow, this book got bashed by a lot of people on this site. It is funny that the people who hated this were the ones with the longest comments about it. It almost seemed like this people hated the book, but wanted to get reading so they could have more to say why they hated it as opposed to just stop reading the book...

There were a lot of things I skipped like being a single parent, grandparents and like a chapter on being gay or something. It was written by someone who is a Christian, founder of Focus on the Family, a group advocating what he views as Christian ethics and political conservatism. I think right from there people won't like what he has to say and will pounce on him. If you read what he really is focusing on is that boys and girls are different at all ages. They should be raised differently. The whole unisex thing in having them do the same things is wrong. Boys look at their fathers and act them. Having a strong male father is important for their development. He is not saying the mother is less important. The father needs to be the father, the mother the mother. Not like the mother acting like the father and vice versa. He says it is important that the parents don't get divorce. He thinks in the early development of children it is important that the mother is home for them and not to have both parents working full time. There are a few other things here and there. I would have to agree on a lot of what he says, but at a same time maybe not agree on other things.

Overall it isn't awesome or really good, but it isn't trash that people gave him. It was OK, which is 2 stars.

On Raising boys Dr Dobson says
“We have often prayed and thank God for near misses”… Ain’t that the truth
In regards to sexual purity I liked this quote “don’t start the engine if you’re not gonna let it run”
There is an organization called man boy love that has a slogan “sex before eight or it’s too late”. Many countries have lowered the consent age for boys to as low as 12 in Spain to consent for sex with adult men. This is sick and broken
The late novelist Pat Conroy stated that the divorce is a death of a micro civilization
How are society treats men: if a man bashes a woman it’s a lawsuit, if a woman bashes a man it’s a Hallmark card

While I appreciate much of what Dr. Dobson has to say about raising boys, I was very saddened that the book did not sing the gospel. Most of his words were rooted in tough black and white principles and lacked the graying love of the gospel. For example: in his chapter about the competitive nature of boys and men he only discussed the hormonal reasons for why boys love competition but failed to address the dangerous sin issues of competition in men and how God can redeem competitiveness.
Dr. Dobson also seemed to use fearful stories about the world to scare Christian parents. I, as a mother of three boys trying to raise three godly men was already frightened enough and I feel the scare stories are unnecessary. Only love drives out fear. I needed more love.

Great book. Even if a quarter of the statistics about the place of parents in raising children are true - it raises alarm bells at the place and purpose of parents in their children's lives, and raises some big questions in terms of investing time in our kids. Strongly recommend for everyone with boys. Awesome final chapter as a call to make sure the Lord is kept at the centre of our parenting.

I am grateful beyond words that dr. Dobson is willing to speak the truth despite the ugly words this world throws at him. God has made men and women to be companions, not competitors. Dr. Dobson reminds us plainly that our children are gifts from God. Every mother who truly loves her children and wants what is best for them will be inspired throughout this book. True parenting is hard, criticizing is much easier.

I thought there was some really interesting and important information in here and some good insights as far as how the current media and societal trends are affecting our sons. My complaint is that there seemed to be endless information/studies on all the negative influences caused by the home environment and public environment, but very little in the way of solutions, which is really what I think most readers are after. The few suggestions Dr. Dobson offered were very general and seemed could have been explained in a much more specific situation-applicable format.

Definitely not for the woke crowd. But lovely examples and reasoning for how we should raise our boys with love and discipline. This goes through many pitfals parents should be aware of when raising boys and why it's so important that boys have loving parents especially a father in their lives.