Book Review: 4/5 Impact On Me (Book By Steve Biddulph)
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I like reading this book because I have a 4-year-old boy, and parenting can be challenging. My son is starting to show The boys versus girls dynamic in his preferences for friends and toys. The book cites research showing boys have better academic achievements in boys-only versus girls-only or mixed-gender classrooms for learning English. It discusses the bond between a boy and his mother and the bond between a boy and his father.
I disagreed with some points, such as the idea that boys will always come to the father for some things and to the mother for others. My internal feminist disagrees with that idea. However, I liked its explanation of the hormone produced from ages four to six, which helps generate cells in the testicles to produce testosterone from age six onwards. It explains the change in boys' behavior at ages 4, 6, and puberty.
I want my boy to be open-hearted and kind. Society expected boys to be sporty. But I'm not sporty, so I don't care much about that. I also want him to embrace dance, music, and academics.
I appreciate the book's idea about rough play with a child. The father can engage in rough play but also lay down guidelines on what constitutes gentle hands and gentle play. It explains how to pause from rough play. I am seeing the rough play come up with my son, so this was timely.
It talked about society's changing expectations of fathers, explaining explicit content to your sons, and more.
I rate the book four out of five because it contained new information and perspectives I liked.