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Mama In The Now

Boy Mom Life With Humor and Hygge

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10 Things You NEED To Know About Raising Boys

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The words “mama, come look” should scare every mother of boys. Raising boys isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for moms with big hearts!

“Mama, mama, come look!”… Motherhood taught me early on that those exact words can mean a wide variety of things and to brace myself for the strangest, grossest, weirdest or most foul-smelling experience of my life.

He had just turned three years old, when he called from the living room with great excitement and pride in his voice. “Mama, you GOTTA see this!”

Oh boy… I hesitantly hurried through the house, scared and worried all at the same time. What NOW!?!

Raising boys can be overwhelming and it's foreign territory to many moms. This funny mother of four boys shares parenting tips and tricks to raise boys, good little men and happy children!

Photo credit: Pretty Amazing Photography

Our son had been sitting on the couch, watching [easyazon_link identifier=”B0018RKEGO” locale=”US” tag=”maminthenow0e-20″]Handy Manny[/easyazon_link] when something SO important happened. I walked up to the couch, saw my cherub-like child… proudly manhandling “himself”.

He turned his head, looked at me with more glee in his eyes than on Christmas morning and said: “Look mama, I have a screw driver, like Handy Manny!”… and from then on, Handy Manny was ruined for me.

[bctt tweet=”The BEST tips for #RaisingBoys from a #boymom of four #boys! #Parenting ” username=”MamaintheNow”]


Fast forward a few years, we now have four boys, even our pet fish “Porkchop” is male. There is an over-abundance of testosterone in our house. I grew up with one older sister, so I was never exposed to the crazy world of a [easyazon_link identifier=”014311171X” locale=”US” tag=”maminthenow0e-20″]boy childhood[/easyazon_link].

Going into motherhood, I was grossly under-prepared for the life lessons ahead of me… But I am fast learner – so here are the top 10 things you NEED to know about raising boys!

Disclaimer: Some of my observations may apply to girls too, but my reality is a boy world, so bear with me if I am gender-stereotyping.

Raising boys can be overwhelming. Positive parenting, conscious discipline and lots of humor is necessary. This mother of four boys shares her best tips, tricks and hacks of how to enjoy motherhood as a boy mom!

Photo credit: Pretty Amazing Photography

10 Things You Need To Know About Raising Boys:

  • You will become immune to seeing penises!
    • Big, small, soft, hard, circumcised, intact, peeing, hanging out, growers or showers – nothing will faze you. This may be a blessing or a curse, I will let you be the judge of that.
  • As a direct result of # 1: You will say “penis” in public as often as other people day “Hi, how are you?”!
    • The word will fly out of your mouth whenever you address your child. He may even begin to think his name is “Penises are private!”
  • Not every brown stain is chocolate!
    • Chances are far greater that the “dirt” under your child’s nails has seen more butt than soil.
    • When testing the origin of a brown stain, use your nose instead of your taste buds… just in case!
  • Boys come with one of two personalities: either you have to hire the CIA [easyazon_link identifier=”0966074521″ locale=”US” tag=”maminthenow0e-20″]to interrogate him[/easyazon_link] to find out what he had for lunch at school… or you have will have to limit your child on the number of words he can speak in a day.
    • There is simply no in-between. We have two kids of each personality type.
  • Boys have little [easyazon_link identifier=”B000219XYG” locale=”US” tag=”maminthenow0e-20″]magnets[/easyazon_link] in their hands, arms, legs and feet!
    • These little magnets cause them to be automatically drawn towards other little XY-chromosome-carrying beings.
    • Their wrestling and tumbling is not something that is taught.
    • Boys seek each other out and then start to wrestle, as if it was the most socially acceptable greeting.
    • It is the equivalent of butt-sniffing dogs.


  • Boys love to copy their parents – just like girls do!
    • It is only natural for a child to emulate the behavior they see in their parents, regardless of whether it is their mom or dad.
    • Boys will at some point want to wear make up, steal your bra and stumble through the house in your high heels.
    • It is perfectly normal, so don’t shame them or discourage it – but feel free to laugh along side of them… because dressing up in your parent’s clothes is always funny.
  • You are their first love!
    • There is no love like the one a little boy feels for his mama.
    • You are the almighty healer of boo-boos, the provider of the just-right meals (sandwiches without crust, the right kind of mac & cheese – whatever the favorite meal du jour is, you get it right, most of the time) and you are the comforter of tantrums.
    • They look at you with admiration and awe – time and time again. They don’t care about your bed head or morning breath. They love your stained yoga pants and worn out flip-flops.
    • Little boys LOVE their mamas – completely, utterly and unconditionally. (May this never change!)
  • Because of # 7: Be the type of woman that you want them to admire well into adulthood!
    • Show your little man that it is OK for mom to have interests outside of the home. Whether it is a job, hobby or volunteering, it is good for your son (and daughters too) to see that their mom is a well-rounded being.
    • Our boys love my blog, they want to be part of the photos and posts whenever possible. They know my writing is important to me and they respect when I need peace and quiet to write… ok – that’s a stretch, because “quiet” doesn’t happen in our house.
  • Shooting games happen!
    • You may never buy your child a toy gun. You may very well prohibit shooting toys from entering your home. Yet somehow, your boys STILL start to play cops and robbers or some other variant of the age-old “good guy vs. bad guy” game.
    • They may build guns out of LEGO bricks, toilet paper rolls, sticks – or simply use their fingers – it is just a matter of time.
  • Clothes are optional!
    • You have been raised to believe that one should be fully clothed before leaving the house. Raising one or more boys will quickly change that mindset.
    • The whole “shirt and shoes required” is a thing of the past.
    • In our house, someone is always shirtless or “free-balling” it – and there is NOTHING I can do about it… other than run around frantic when the door bell rings, yelling “GET YOUR PANTS ON!”

Life with a house full of boys is utterly odd, exhausting, loud and at times down-right foul-smelling.

But at the end of the day, when the last wrestling match has ended, the LEGO guns are left on the floor waiting for an unsuspecting foot and their stained underwear is scattered throughout the house that’s when two, four, six, sometimes even eight long and skinny arms wrap around my neck.

I get the biggest bear hug and I smile as he nestles his nose against the nape of my neck, inhales deeply as if to confirm my identity merely by scent. He exhales completely, relaxes, rests his head on my shoulders for a nano-second… and then off he goes – with a quick “I love you, mama!”

As a mother of boys, what are your thoughts on raising boys in the “#MeToo era”? This boy mom has great tips.

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Comments

  1. Susanne D Israelsen says

    December 22, 2016 at 11:33 PM

    All my experiences just got confirmed. And I’m still wiping off the tears of laughter. I LOVE the way you are writing!!!!

    • Mama in the Now says

      December 23, 2016 at 8:35 PM

      I am SO glad to hear that I am not the only one with this crazy life! Thank you for reading – I love to show other moms that they are not alone.

  2. Valerie says

    January 17, 2017 at 4:21 PM

    I have two boy, 2 and 3, and pretty much every single one of these things is relevant to our daily life! The wrestling has just begun but not with other children yet.. normally. It’s fun and interesting but mostly crazy!!!

  3. Christene says

    February 25, 2017 at 12:05 PM

    I am a proud mommy of 5 boys ranging from 13-2yrs all of these facts are true to the bone!!! I love it. My little ones come home and strip straight down to the underwear and older kids will sometimes but mostly basketball shorts no shirt ha

  4. Melissa says

    March 9, 2017 at 11:50 PM

    So true! I also have 4 boys and I just had to laugh out loud at these. We have a new game we play in public. If a stranger says anything along the line of “Wow! Four boys?,” the boys get a dollar in their piggy savings bank.
    Thanks for sharing, fellow MOB!

    • Mama in the Now says

      March 11, 2017 at 11:17 PM

      OMG – that’s hysterical. I love that tradition. My kids look at me when strangers make comments and say (loudly): “Don’t you get tired of those comments, mom?” LOL

  5. lifebythedreams says

    June 28, 2017 at 6:19 PM

    I am a mother to 3 boys. If I have not experienced some of these things yet I know they are coming. My favorite thing right now is my 5yo feels the need to walk around in his underwear because “it makes him stronger”. Lol. Love every minute with my boys. Some just happen to be later. Haha.

    • Mama in the Now says

      June 29, 2017 at 11:32 PM

      ha ha ha – yes… the feeling of walking in your underwear – I always feel stronger too. LOL – so cute!

  6. Chandni says

    November 5, 2017 at 10:54 PM

    I am a mother of just one little boy and he’s so darn precious. He’s still a toddler so I like to read articles on what parents with older boys and multiple children go through. The mess the noise and chaos is an everyday thing at our home but I wouldn’t give that up for the world.
    Your article is so well written. The last paragraph melted my heart.

    • Mama in the Now says

      November 6, 2017 at 10:49 PM

      Awww thank you! Enjoy your little boy… some times it really doesn’t matter if you have one, four or fifteen – the noise and chaos is all the same, but SO worth it!

  7. Tisha says

    November 13, 2017 at 12:55 PM

    Thank you for your post! I have two boys 12 and 3 yes it is a gap but my 3 year old is all #1-10! So for such a small guy with a big personality I do manage, but often compare to my 12 year old at this age, no comparison! My husband always says I’m so lucky with all this attention, I often beg to differ at the end of such a day. But I would not change a thing! Boys will be boys and I love every part of them, mostly.

    • Mama in the Now says

      November 16, 2017 at 10:40 PM

      “mostly”… such an accurate way to describe life as a mom of boys! I get it! I love the age gap you have – it must give you an opportunity to really enjoy all the aspects of each age! ENJOY!!!!

  8. Kelly Hedlund says

    April 5, 2018 at 12:45 PM

    Love this!! So true. ❤️

  9. Rashida Moon says

    April 9, 2018 at 10:26 AM

    Love it.
    Straight upfront and honest.
    Brought up my girls.
    Now it’s my grandson. I love every single second of his energised day.

  10. Deb Meyer says

    June 27, 2019 at 8:50 AM

    LOL! My 3 boys are exactly the same. It feels like we are living in a circus sometimes, but it’s totally worth it.

I am a Danish American mom of four boys parenting with heart, humor and hygge. Join me on this crazy ride. You will laugh more than you’d expect!

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