Reddit reviews The Dangerous Book for Boys

Here's some things I enjoyed when I was a kid, and that are even more fun sharing with my son. Some of them may have to wait until he's a little older.


Sounds like you're already on the way to giving him the best thing that he could ask for -- an older brother who treats him like an individual and spends time with him.


Keep in mind that kids don't have the same sense of time as adults and they don't focus on the same types of goals. Try not to have too set a timetable for these things -- if he wants to spend all afternoon exploring the stream he found 15 minutes from the parking lot, let him. You'll still have had a great afternoon with him, even if you didn't get to take him on the two mile hike to the scenic view you'd planned.

• Hiking and exploring in the woods, especially if there's a stream or pond involved.
  
• Go fishing. Don't be surprised if he ignores the poles after a short time to try to catch frogs and minnows.
  
• Take a canoe trip, even if it's just a couple hours.
  
• Go to a big amusement park and go on rides with him. Go back to the same one each summer. He'll remember when he was too young to be allowed to ride on ABC, or the first time he rode on XYZ. Lots of little milestones and memories. Goals and incentives too -- eat your vegetables and meat so you'll grow enough to ride on the new roller coaster next summer. If rides that spin make you nauseous (they will someday), Dramamine helps. Take one tablet the night before, and another a couple hours before your first ride. Old diver's trick.
  
• Visit a good sized cave
  
• Make and launch model rockets
  
• Visit the local science museum or children's museum
  
• Take him to the library a couple times a month. My folks let me read anything I could check out, which made me feel grown up and independent
  
• Ride bikes
  
• Put some of your favorite books on his shelf for him to find and read when he's the right age
  
• Get him some books like The Dangerous Book for Boys. Flip through them together and find fun things to learn or do.

Buy him The Dangerous Book For Boys.

Get him climbing trees and catching frogs. Eight years old is no time to be sitting indoors, and certainly not the age to be exposed to the internet.

The Dangerous Book For Boys is something I really wish I had when I was 9.

The Dangerous Book for Boys

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061243582

The Dangerous Book for Boys

I bought it as a 'right of passage for dummies guidebook for imparting masculinity on your son through awesome childhood memories' but it has a lot of the stuff in it that I feel every man should know.

I wish my Dad had something like this when I was young.

The Dangerous Book for Boys

Don't be afraid to "man up", so to speak. There are plenty of things that "boys" should learn that are quite lost on a bunch of kids these days.

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319658461&sr=1-5

Depending on your location, and resources, not everything in this book will apply to you (like building a tree house for instance). But this book and others like it can teach some of those things that are great for life. Tying knots for instance. Heck, you might learn a thing or two yourself.

Good luck, and most importantly, have fun!

By the sounds of it, you might really like this book. :D

I don't really know what to do with a 5yr old, but 8yr olds eat this sort of shit up:

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293580632&sr=8-1

It's like a guidebook on how to care for an inquisitive boy.

Things to do with your imagination (either alone or with friends) and don't be afraid to use whatever is around you as props to help out (Sticks, balls, foam noodles, these all work well as super awesome things) - explore and take on the world; rescue the princesses; defeat dragons; Win a race car race; Stop bad guys; Ride Dinosaurs; Be a sneaky ninja stealing the plans to save the day; (You know... Easy stuff.)

In the 'real' world try to fix something WITHOUT looking up ANYTHING on it. If you don't understand it, take it apart and explore it so you can see how it works. Leave it for a day or two and see if you can put it back together, working; Go camping and learn that you can ONLY count on yourself, as everybody seems to forget 'stuff' and to make due, use the things in nature to get by.

It's all a learn by doing. If you MUST study for this then I'll suggest (2) books as starter reference materials - This one and then this other one.

I recommend then to read The Dangerous Book for boys. Its got everything. Knots, How to build a tree house, how to macgyver rig things, and different battle schematics pretty much any knowledge a guy needs to be a guy http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582

I can't believe no one has mentioned this. Get "The Dangerous Book for Boys" and read it. Has an abundance of good/cool information for boys/young men/adults. http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323357396&sr=8-1

Books.
The Way Things Work is a must have.
The Dangerous Book for Boys is pretty good too. Might be a little over his head although the first amazon review claims their six year old loves it.