Congratulations to Tricia Marble, the winner! If you didn’t win, but you really wish you had, you can get a $10 discount registration to Boot Camp 9-12 at this link! Starts tonight!
I thought we were failures.
We’d worked so hard to raise our boys in a Biblical way and now it seemed like our oldest son, who’d been excited about learning, fun-loving, and obedient was always either losing his temper or crying that nobody loved him(!). What in the world!
I wondered if all those dire predictions that we’d rue the day we had so many boys when they got to be teens <cue ominous music>. He was only nine or ten. What would we face then? Was it inevitable that our sweet boys would become awful teens and we’d hate parenthood?
No!
We had some things to learn about shepherding our young men through those hormonal years. Had to let go of some baggage from our own teen years. Had to learn to control our own mouths and deal with things Biblically instead of culturally. Had to learn the right balance of expectations, supervision, and independence. In the end, though, the teen years have been super! And, the years between nine and twelve are critical.
We’re helping our sixth son through those challenging years right now. One of his older brothers said, “Mom, it seems like when a boy hits nine or ten years old, his head gets harder and his brain gets softer.” He didn’t appreciate it much, but some days it sure seems true!
We realized that there are probably a lot of folks who are right where we were – dealing with brains full of mush, thinking they’re failures and not knowing what to do next, so we put together something that has worked out just great:
Boot Camp 9-12
We meet together with a small group of parents online for five lively, funny, and encouraging weekly sessions. We hang around after the presentation to chat together as a group and answer all your questions. It’s really a lot of fun! Many people have told us it changed their family life, too.
It works great because having the information over a period of weeks gives you time to think and pray about it, put ideas into practice in your home, and ask questions afterward. It’s learning that lasts.
The next session starts January 7th (this Monday) at 8pm Eastern. We’d love to have you join us! It’s only $39 and if you hang around for all the discussion, that’s about $4 an hour for personalized encouragement from the authors of the award-winning book Raising Real Men! Click here to register now!
Want to win a free registration? Comment & Pin It to Win It!
To enter to win one free registration to Boot Camp 9-12, tell us below why you want to win or pin any image in this post to Pinterest – or both for two entries! Entries close at midnight PST, Saturday, January 5th.
I’d love to see you there and get a chance to know you!
Melanie Young
Wow, I think you might have planned this just for me! I have 4 sons… 12, 9, 7, and 5 years old! They are such a blessing but can also truly be overwhelming. I praise God for each of them every day, but on some days…. I could use some more help. What cha got to help me out??!
I have a 10 1/2 year old son (the oldest of 3 boys). We homeschool all 3 of our boys in a christian environment and pray for them daily. Nevertheless, he’s always been incredibly hard headed and determined to do things his own way…I would love to be a part of the ‘boot camp’!
This comes in ABSOLUTE PERFECT timing for our family. Our 6th grade son has really been doing a lot of sudden changing as of the past 3 months. I have felt like a failure on multiple occasions, been in tears, hugged him tightly, and worried myself to sleep many times. He is such an amazing boy, but wow, have the hormones and changes kicked in. My husband and I could use this boot camp very much… it would be a true blessing to our son and our family.
I am a mother of 3 boys ages 18,12,and 8. My husband’s work requires him to be gone most of the time so I feel like a single mom most if the time. As much as I love my boys I feel unprepared to teach them how to be men, simply because I’m not a man. I’ve made many mistakes with my 18 year old and frankly he’s made very poor choices all of his teenage years. I would like to not repeat that with my two younger boys. I’d love to win the free registration to learn from you and make wiser choices as a mom. Thank you.
This would be so amazing for me!! I don’t have support from my boys Dad on raising them the right way and I’m so in need of this kind of encouragement. Thank you!
This is JUST what I need! My oldest son is 11, and is in the midst of this time period, and I have two more to go (they are 9 and 2)! This would help me out tremendously!!
Christi´s last [type] ..Misunderstanding….thank you, Lord!
This could not be better timing. I am in dire need of some advice with my 10 year old!!!!
Mama of 4 boys here, 11,7,5 and 2!
Would love a chance to attend
I had the privilege of seeing you and your husband speak in Zanesville, OH back in the fall of 2010. It was a life changing message for me. I would love to win a free webinar registration because we are parenting my 9 yr old stepson from a distance and my husband and I can use all the help we can get! We have noticed many changes in him and we are concerned and want to help him the best we can. I don’t do Pinterest but will share this post on FB too!
Also, the date for webinar seems to be off by one day? Next Tuesday is the 8th, right?
Thanks a bunch, Michele – I am so addled! I’ve been confused all week about what day it was.
I’ve fixed it.
Thanks for the encouragement, too, about our speaking!
Much love,
Melanie
My boys are 14, 13, and 9… I would LOVE the chance to gain some wisdom in parenting them through these years!
I am also a mum to 4 boys, and wouldn’t have it any other way! However, our 10 year old has just started to make me think I need to do some studying on pre-teen boys. This sounds like the ideal place to learn! I know each of them will be different, (they are 10, 7 6 and 4), but would love to learn how to guide them through this stage and beyond x
Pick me, pick me! I worry that I might lose my mind some days! I adore my ten year old son, but he’s not a thing like his big sisters and I could use some encouragement!
Michelle´s last [type] ..Coming Out
hope to get in on this offer, I have a son that is 7 years old and would like to be prepared with as much knowledge as possible to keep gearing him in the right direction. Thanks
With 2 boys ages 10 and 12 some insight into their life would be greatly appreciated! I am the only female int the house and sometimes all I can do (other then pray) is just shake my head!
Pinned it on pinterest for a second entry!
Congratulations, you are the winner, Tricia!
Sounds like just what I need, too! I have two boys, 9 and 7, and often feel like I’m being pulled in all kinds of directions in the course of a day trying to deal with emotions and attitudes and all that goes along with this boy journey!
I’m in tears! I thought it was just me. We have 3 boys (9,8, and 3). This last year has been so hard with our oldest, and he’s generally a very sweet boy.
Rachel Miller´s last [type] ..Taking Every Song Captive: Hallelujah!
Pinned on Pinterest as well.
We had all 4 of our boys in 3 years. They are all either a year apart or 11 months apart. Our oldest, who is 9, has always been a challenge. We were told when I was pregnant with him that he could have Down syndrome and I prayed and prayed, God was faithful and our son was spared that outcome but his road has not been easy. We have gone through speech and occupational therapy, counseling, and endless meetings with teachers. I thank God for hearing my prayer then but sometimes feel hopeless in the now. I would love to win. Thanks do much for considering me and my son
We’d like all the help and information we can get! We took a class at church on parenting today’s teen, but this boot camp is for a little younger, which is right where my 2 homeschooled boys are: 9 & 12. I’d love to be a part of the conference. I’m also sharing this on facebook, besides Pinterest.
Thanks! Hope I’m the winner 
Michelle Eichner´s last [type] ..One Word
I have one child, a son, who is almost 11 1/2. I am a substitute teacher and feel very confident teaching any class full of boys, but sometimes feel that I am a failure at teaching the ONE child I have! I’m looking for some faith-based guidance of my own to help me enable my son to develop a deeper faith and relationship with God, as well as a stronger relationship to develop betwsen the two of us. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to win a scholarship to your boot camp that I’m not able to afford myself right now. Thanks!
I have one child, a son, who is almost 11 1/2. I am a substitute teacher and feel very confident teaching any class full of boys, but sometimes feel that I am a failure at teaching the ONE child I have! I’m looking for some faith-based guidance of my own to help me enable my son to develop a deeper faith and relationship with God, as well as a stronger relationship to develop between the two of us. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to win a scholarship to your boot camp that I’m not able to afford myself right now. Thanks!
Oops! Sorry for the double post. I was having computer troubles while posting :-S
PS – I tweeted it, too. Do I get bonus points?
I would LOVE to do this…my son is turning 9 soon and oh my is he a handful!!!! It seems as though the only time he is not moving, yelling, breaking things, is when he is sleeping!!
This brought tears to my eyes. We are having some real issues with the exact same things right now. The part that hit me the most was the need to control our own tongue. Something I am working on and praying for God to help me with. I would love to win this!
Lindsay @ Bytes of Memory´s last [type] ..Random Christmas Moments
This looks so exciting and as a mom of 2 boys ages 8 & 10 who grew up with 4 sisters and viewed boys as weird and exotic creatures. I guess I need help in understanding the boy brain and what makes them tick. It seems they were my sweet little boys who wanted to marry me when they were younger and now they are pulling away and becoming more distant, and I have no idea why. I would love to receive this. Thanks for offering it.
I struggle daily with my middle boy (11). He seems to be making some headway this year, but as the old parenting adage goes it is one step forward and two steps back. I pray that I am raising him to know his true father and embrace that love, but always feel like I am missing something with him.
WAIT!!!! What if my oldest son is about to turn 13???? We also have a younger son who wil be 9 this year!
I have two boys (11 & 7). I think this information could be really helpful for me as I struggle with my oldest. He is a great kid, but we butt heads all the time and I feel like I’m at the end of my rope. I wish I had a way to really connect with him, but I can be so difficult at times. And when I think things are going pretty good, something comes up again.
I have already raised one son in a Christian home as a single mom. I felt I prayed and planted A LOT of seeds, but he almost 20 and now my prodigal. I remarried and have 3 more children, the oldest a 10 yr old boy. I am starting to see some of the same behavior changes in him and while, his circumstances are different, we are praying even more for his future and our choices as his parents. Some days the fear and doubt can be overwhelming.
i may just sign up ..i have been reading this and thinking we don’t have a 9 year old yet!! but then I realized..we do in 4 days!! he’s half way to moving out…yikes! i need to look into this for real
i pinned it here http://pinterest.com/pin/269512358922602197/
Ginger´s last [type] ..TOP 12 of 2012
I have a 11 year old son who’s turning 12 this month. The first paragraph described my son to a t so I couldn’t help but keep reading. I’ve known he’s going through changes but more often then not I feel like I’m on a blind folded journey hoping and praying my direction is the right way in leading him to be the Godly man I know he can be and want him to be. Some days I feel like I feel like I’m right on track but other days I question everything. I am married but my husband is not his real father and also comes from a completely different country and culture so that tends to have a negative impact on their bond and relationship. So often I feel like a single parent in guiding my son to Godly manhood. I have 2 other children, both girls, ages 17 and 3 so he’s stuck in the middle with no strong male role model to relate to or look up to. I definately could use some good strong advice and encouragement. If I don’t win this then more than likely I won’t be able to get to see it since it’s kind of pricey. Things like this should’nt cost so much money..$10-$15 would make it so much more affordable for everyone, which in my perspective would get more people and in the end you’d make more money. Just saying.
Hope I win!
Right there with ya Vanessa. My husband didn’t have a good role model in his father so not talking about the hard stuff, the personal stuff, etc with our son is in his mind normal. Therefore I feel our son lacks direction. My husband wants to be a great dad as do I a mother but we seriously lack a good foundation (thank the Lord for the Bible though) or direction. Hope you win it but if not I hope it’s me
Good luck
Thanks for the feedback, Vanessa. It’s hard to hit the right point in pricing. This Boot Camp was significantly discounted for Christmas. Do know that we price things as low as we possibly can. We are full-time speakers and writers and frankly, we struggle to keep our heads above water financially.
I didn’t understand all this before we did it ourselves, but It takes a lot of time to prepare for these and to put them on. It takes a minimum of three hours for setting up the mikes and room and software, putting it on and breaking it down each week, plus about 5-6 hours of speaking prep, sending emails, accounting, helping folks with problems, etc, so that’s about 8 or 9 hours a week for two of us — 16-18 man hours per week for 5 weeks, so 80-90 work hours.
We can’t put that many hours into something without making sure we hadn’t better be doing something else to pay the bills!
Let’s see, average attendance times cost divided by hours. Ugh. I think I’ll stop running the numbers, I’m getting depressed!! LOL
May the Lord give you wisdom to raise your son to glorify Him, Vanessa. That’s a tough situation, but God is faithful and often gives us more than we could even ask for. I hope that will be the case for your boy!
Much love,
Melanie
Here is my pin on pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/61009769923951259/
We have two boys, one of which has entered 6th grade this year. The past two years have the been most challenging and rewarding with our now 6th grader. I would love to get answers to some questions that boggle me and my husbands brain…our own brains are turning to mush…HELP!
I re-pinned it already (it’s how I found you) for a second entry. Thanks so much
Please enter me to win. this is right around the corner for us. Our boys are almost 7 and 8.
We would love to win this. Thank you for the opportunity.
Wow! We are right in the middle of this with our oldest son (I could have sworn you were describing him in your intro while describing when your oldest hit this period). I’d love the opportunity to sit in and learn something!
Pinned as well
I’m holding back my tears–two boys 9 & 12 — like many other divorced moms–without the right help. My boys are in such turmoil with different parenting styles at each home. How can I help them at my home and therefore help them at there father’s house? With all the expenses this year, I can’t afford this–but how can I NOT afford it? I’m requesting a counseling order from court on Tuesday–prayers, please.
I have a son that is 12, and a brother to 4 sisters!! He has triplet sisters a year older and a 26 year old sister as well. Can we just say that he is a boy living in a girl’s world–I need all the help I can find with this one.