Sunday, June 4, 2017

Knights in Training {A Review}






I remember a certain Blue and Gold ceremony in Cub Scouts, when my oldest was crossing over to become a Boy Scout, which happens midway through fifth grade.  His Webelos Leader made a fantastic speech talking about knighthood, and how that had been a goal of his in working with these young men-to-be.  He spoke of so much that is honorable and courageous, daring and adventurous.  My family loved the speech.

Many of the other families, however, were appalled.  There were so many complaints.  Knights were about raping and pillaging and they were upset that their children had now been exposed to this horrible era of history.

My family talked about this a lot, and we strongly disagreed with this revisionist history.

As for me and my household, we determined to continue to hold some of those knightly ideals up for our four boys, who were 3, 7, 9 and 10 at the time.  And for our well-protected princess, who had just turned 2 at the time of that event.

William, reading The Knight's Code


Those same boys are now 13, 16, 18 and 20, and a book like Knights in Training: Ten Principles for Raising Honorable, Courageous, and Compassionate Boys would have helped me feel that I was not alone.

Heather Haupt, the author of this book, is the mother of three knights-in-training and a spunky little princess. She wants to be intentional during these years of parenting and raise children who will make a difference in this world. Heather is an educator, writer, and popular speaker. Recognizing the brevity of childhood and the power of a parent’s influence, she encourages and equips parents towards intentional parenting, pursuing God, and delighting in the adventure of learning. She is the author of Knights-in-Training: Ten Principles for Raising Honorable, Courageous, and Compassionate Boys as well as The Ultimate Guide to Brain Breaks. She writes at www.heatherhaupt.com.

I think she and I would get along well.   

When the boys were little, one of our goals for them was that they not end up in jail.  You know, like this one, where we just had to stop and get a picture of me with three of my Knights in Training, along with the book, which did go on vacation with us.

The idea of the book is to be raising up a generation of boys who aspire to be heroes, to rise up and put others' needs above their own.  Challenge these boys to make an impact. I know my experience with boys is that they are pretty good at rising to meet expectations -- much of the time -- when you make it clear that you believe they are capable of it.





Heather suggests a training program that does include such activities as sword fighting.


That might not be the most practical part of the suggested training, but something that encourages physical activity and encourages the boys to work together has to be good.  You know, work together.  They're good at that.


This book is great.  There are so many things she talks about in here that we've done but never really thought out why we were doing it.  Heather has put the words on some of my actions, along with some fantastic ideas that I never thought to do.

If you have boys at home, you really ought to find this book.  Raise the bar.  Help to raise up a generation of men who make a difference.




Disclaimer:  I received this book and poster in exchange for writing this review on my blog.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own.  




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