Ringleaders and Sidekicks: How to Help Your Son Cope with Classroom Politics, Bullying, Girls and Growing Up

Review This book is a gem. Rosalind Wiseman offers readers deep, nuanced, up-to-the-minute insight into today's boy. She explains how and why boys, in so many areas, make it easy for parents and educators to miss out on their suffering and their strength. Most important, she shows how to reach out and lift boys up without getting on their nerves ― Wendy Mogel, PhD, author of the New York Times bestseller The Blessing of a Skinned Knee Trying to communicate with boys - teenage boys especially -- can sometimes feel like cracking the world's most complicated secret code. What makes Ringleaders & Sidekicks so remarkable is how thoroughly it decrypts boy-world language. It allows us to really connect with boys. If you want to understand what's in your son's head, read this book! ― Michael Gurian, New York Times bestselling author of The Wonder of Boys Ringleaders & Sidekicks maps the foreign territory of boys' social and interior emotional lives as deftly and compassionately as Wiseman's earlier book on girls. With clear analysis and down-to-earth practical advice, this book will guide many many conversations between parents and their sons ― Michael Kimmel, author of Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men Rosalind Wiseman brings a distinctive perspective and voice to whatever issue she takes up. She did it in Queen Bees and Wannabes. Now she's done it again, revealing the inner workings of 'Boy World.' I found the book insightful and useful, as both a father to sons and as a professional working with violent youth who must deal with the most serious life issues facing other people's sons. ― James Garbarino, PhD, author of Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them Don't even try parenting, teaching or coaching a boy without reading Wiseman's book - a field manual that you'll absolutely need if you wish to enter the strange and wondrous world of guys ― Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That's Leaving Them Behind The world bombards boys with confusing and destructive messages - the net result is the creation of characters instead of young men with character.Ringleaders & Sidekicks will help parents, teachers, and coaches understand young boys and make a difference in their lives. An intriguing read ― Dr Kevin Leman, author of Have a New Kid by Friday Based on the concept that there are unwritten rules about how to 'Act-Like-A-Man', which affect every male child, Wiseman unravels how these conventions stop boys from expressing their emotions and asking for help...Wiseman's sound and steady assistance provides a calm response to every twist and turn on the multifaceted road of parenthood. Especially important are the insights she presents on what to do when a boy discovers the roller coaster of emotions and desires involved in sexual situations, such as sexting, foreplay and sexual abuse... A wealth of sensible information for parents of boys. ― Kirkus There are certain books that, whilst written to help with [parenting] ... are well worth reading in order to gain insight when it comes to [teaching] ... and this level-headed look at what life is like for today's growing boys, designed to help parents and carers raise happy, well-balanced, emotionally literate young men, is definitely among them ... [Ringleaders & Sidekicks] could genuinely change the way you look at some of your most challenging students, to their benefit and yours. ― Teach Secondary Product Description When Rosalind Wiseman published her bestseller Queen Bees and Wannabes in 2001, it fundamentally changed the way that parents, educators and the media looked at the impact of girls' social dynamics and created a road map for girls to develop better relationships and higher self-esteem. Now Rosalind turns her attention to the tricky terrain of Boy World. Drawing on 20 years of work with boys and her own experience as a mother of two sons, Rosalind will help parents understand the