It's Better to Build Boys than Mend Men by S. Truett Cathy

Recently I read a book by S. Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-Fil-A. I myself have a son and I am always on the lookout for good christian perspective books on raising children. This is a quick read at only 111 pages but offered some wisdom that I hope I don't forget for a while. It was also interesting learning about Mr. Cathy's work with foster children and young boys. I commend him for the work that he has done and continues to do and reach out to others. And yes it makes me love Chick-fil-a even more. :) Here is a description of the book I found online:

Children have plenty of buddies. In an age when kids all around us are growing up without strong, positive guidance from their parents (who are busy, distracted, gone, or choose to be buddies instead of parents) children need someone they can look to with respect to help them build their lives. When he was thirteen years old, Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, had such a man step into his life: a Sunday school teacher who modeled love, respect, hard work, and discipline. Cathy decided to follow that model, and today he has some 130 foster grandchildren, many of whom have broken their family’s generational cycle of neglect through the encouragement of Cathy and other adults who reached out to them. In It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men, Truett Cathy lays out a simple model for adults desiring to reach out to youth and challenges readers to allow God to work through them to change the life of a child. His book is filled with stories illustrating the principles of discipline, trust, reputation, generosity, common sense, peer pressure, and family stability. Readers who follow their hearts into children’s lives will find that their own lives are enriched as well. (End quote)

I enjoyed reading this book and the advice is not for those with boys alone. The advice can be applied to girls as well. I especially liked his take on teenagers and cars .....but you will have to read the book to get the full story. Let's just say after sharing Mr. Cathy's method with my husband, we both agreed at what a wonderful idea. Hopefully we can hold on to it for when our children are sixteen! This is by no means a selection for our book club but since I'm sharing with you what other books I read, this one is by no means exempt. I would recommend this book if you are a parent, grandparent, mentor to children, etc. Mr. Cathy has a realistic and caring approach to children that I hope you enjoy reading as well. Happy Reading!