The Way of Boys: Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Young Boys - Softcover

Rao PhD, Anthony; Seaton, Michelle D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 006170783X ISBN 13: 9780061707834

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2010

Synopsis

As a culture, we are increasingly failing to respect young boyhood, pathologising normal boy behaviour and foisting burdensome and stigmatising diagnoses of ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, bipolar disorder, and more on boys as young as three years old. The result, as Dr. Anthony Rao passionately argues in "The Way of Boys", is nothing less than a crisis in boyhood, with ever-increasing numbers of boys being treated and medicated for problems they simply don't have. In this practical and accessible guide to the distinct challenges of raising young boys into good men, Dr. Rao urges parents, educators, pediatricians, psychologists, and other developmental experts to reevaluate and radically alter how we deal with our youngest boys. He teaches parents how to rear their sons with respect for their natural development right from the start, which gives them the best shot at growing into confident and healthy men ready to make their unique contributions to the world.

About this title

Review:

“Rao deftly admonishes quick fix psychiatrists and anxious parents to more patiently deal with children’s growth and problems even if their youngsters are not developing at the speed of light...Rao’s practical book...is filled with case by case examples of children trying to find their way.” (Global Province: The Martketplace of Ideas)

“Parents are often overhwhelmed when struggling with the behavior of growing boys. Dr. Anthony Rao provides the kind of customized wisdom that comes from decades of clinical practice and―most important―success for boys at home and at school. This book is an invaluable contribution for those families in need.” (Jerome Groopman, MD, Racanati professor, Harvard Medical School; author of How Doctors Think)

“This book offers clear understanding of the various and varied ways boys grow and develop into healthy, well-adjusted adults. Many of the modern obstacles to this development―and the parental confusion they cause―fall away after one reads Dr. Rao’s compassionate, specific, problem-solving book.” (Michael Gurian, author of The Purpose of Boys)

From the Back Cover:

The problem isn't with boys, it's with our expectations of them

In a book that's part advice and part exposé, psy­chologist and expert on boyhood development Dr. Anthony Rao challenges some of the potentially harmful assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors we've developed toward young boyhood over the last few decades. This is not an indictment of medication therapies—in some important instances, Dr. Rao argues that medication is appropriate and necessary. Rather, The Way of Boys is a celebration of natural, constructive boyhood development and an expert, definitive handbook on what to look for and expect in normal growth. Ask yourself these questions:

Is his behavior serious enough to interfere with functioning? Does it keep him from sleeping, eating, attending school, or staying safe?

Does it persist over a few weeks or more? Does it show itself more than a few isolated times per day?

Does it happen in different settings? Has it been reported by different people?

If your answer is yes to any of these, your son may have symptoms that need further assessment by a pediatrician or other qualified developmental specialist. But a yes answer doesn't mean your son has a lifelong disorder or that the first line of defense is medication.

Boys are being bombarded with a slew of diagnoses—ADHD, Asperger's, bipolar disorder—at an alarming rate and at younger ages. The Way of Boys urges parents, educators, pediatricians, psychologists, and other developmental experts to reevaluate and significantly change how we deal with our youngest boys.

It's time we stopped trying to "fix" young boys. When parents understand the wide spectrum for normal boy development, they can successfully communicate with their son—and everyone in their son's life—and help him grow into a healthy, smart, strong man.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 006170783X
• ISBN 13: 9780061707834
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304