Strong Mothers, Strong Sons

Aimed at mothers of sons of all ages, Meeker's (Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters) latest self-help manual takes multiple, not always cohesive, approaches to navigating the parent-child gender divide. While some statistically founded male-female differences, such as general deviations in communication style, are included, the author makes unexplained assertions that men and women are basically positioned to misunderstand one another. Meeker's contentions that every boy will feel threatened by the emotional attachment he has to his mother and that nothing is more important to a son than a solid relationship with his father are to be accepted as absolutes with no mention of the underpinning of data. Even though the "boy code" that triggers many boys' emotional off-switch is credited largely to social factors, mothers are said to be naturally more in tune with a son's needs. When we are offered a glimpse of why it is mothers are "wired" for more sensitive communication, the reasoning is imprecise. Meeker's points about egocentricism precluding children from truly empathizing with adults' emotions are some of the most clearly delineated in the book. Whereas in other places her line of thinking is less clear with claims that either unsubstantiated or appear out of the blue, such as when Meeker firmly asserts that religious faith in God makes it "far easier" to instil hope in your son. While it contains notable anecdotes and nuggets of advice few would question%E2%80%94such as to keep yourself emotionally healthy so you can nurture your kids%E2%80%94the manual relies heavily on underdeveloped theories on the strict, troublesome gender differences between essentially all mothers and sons. (Apr.)