Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

In Raising Cain, Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., and Michael Thompson, Ph.D., two of the countrys leading child psychologists, share what they have learned in more than thirtyfive years of combined experience working with boys and their families. They reveal a nation of boys who are hurtingsad, afraid, angry, and silent. Kindlon and Thompson set out to answer this basic, crucial question: What do boys need that theyre not getting? They illuminate the forces that threaten our boys, teaching them to believe that cool equals macho strength and stoicism. Cutting through outdated theories of mother blame, boy biology, and testosterone, the authors shed light on the destructive emotional training our boys receivethe emotional miseducation of boys.Kindlon and Thompson make a compelling case that emotional literacy is the most valuable gift we can offer our sons, urging parents to recognize the price boys pay when we hold them to an impossible standard of manhood. They identify the social and emotional challenges that boys encounter in school and show how parents can help boys cultivate emotional awareness and empathygiving them the vital connections and support they need to navigate the social pressures of youth.