Truly the rating "it was okay" sums up my impressions. There was one lightbulb moment for me (early on the authors point out that just as people tend to ignore strength in girls, we tend to flip it and ignore vulnerability in boys - lightbulb!), but most of the book felt more like a reminder of things one should keep in mind with ANY child - not just with boys. Which is not bad to be reminded of as a new parent.

Important book, I think. Though it’s a little dated (2000) I think the content is still relevant in many, many ways. “The I my way to make a difference with a boy is to give him powerful experiences that speak to his inner life...”.

Absolutely one of the single best psychological reads I've ever perused. I am going to recommend that any and everyone who so much as comes in contact with boys read this because as a society we have been grossly miseducating our boys on their emotional experiences. It is imperative we teach boys emotional literacy if we hope to produce whole men with vast psychological resources to tap into...this cultural tide of violent, angry, disengaged boys needs to be curbed. Doctors Kindlon and Thompson begin to present a framework for how to begin to do that.

Wow. Such an important book for me, someone who didn't have much exposure to boys and men growing up. This will definitely help me in raising my boys!

A really well written and considered treatise on raising boys. Well worth a read for anyone with sons or who are involved in the raising of boys. I doubt I'd be the only male reader who finds a lot of familiar territory from their childhood.

It took me a long time to get through this book. I found the first third or so to be emotionally draining; the writers are psychologists who work with adolescent boys and their stories about the difficulties young men endure were sad and upsetting. Not that I thought adolescence was easy for anyone, but I thought my two sons might be spared the cruelties that girls inflict on one another. Apparently not. Once I got through that portion of the book, I found the authors' insight extraordinarily helpful. My boys are only 1 and 3 but I already spend a lot of time thinking how I can help them navigate childhood and adolescence, and I feel as if I am starting from scratch because I am female. Raising Cain provides insight into the challenges young men face from family, peers and media, and offers insight into ways parents can provide guidance and provide a safe space for boys to express emotion in a healthy way. I know I will refer to this book often as my sons grow. I marked several passages, including ones that stress the biology of boy energy, something with which I struggle. The second half of the book deals with issues such as alcohol, drugs, sex and violence, and then the authors summarize their findings with seven principles for healthy emotional growth for boys. I highly recommend this book for anyone parenting a boy.

I only read about half of this book which is pretty good for me. I can't usually get through the first chapter of a self-help book.

More prescriptive than Real Boys.