Status Updates From Boys Adrift: The Five Facto...

Feelings:
Interesting
Afraid
Heart Breaking

24

Reading this again for book club to refresh my memory

Well I liked the introduction, so let’s see how it goes!

Crazy elitist. Plus, any jack ass can point out problems. It takes a much heartier soul to come up with real, accessible solutions. I’ll probably finish it anyway but not impressed…

“If we fail to provide boys with pro-social models of the transition to adulthood, they may construct their own. In some cases, gang initiation rituals, street racing, and random violence may be the result.”

Jk. Plastic is enemy number one. It's in our food and water and just about everything is made from it.

It really makes so much sense. In my opinion, our education system is culprit number one

My heart pounds while reading this. This is something I witness firsthand and affects nearly everyone

A lot of food for thought.

It's frightening how even if you lead a somewhat healthy life, unless you never go out or visit friends who aren't as crunchy as you are, there is no way to avoid screwing with your child hormones. Phthalates are in every smelly plug-in/candle house, cheap Chinese plastic toys and food/water.

I really liked this book. I read it aloud to my husband on a long drive and it provided lots of good conversation. I sometimes find myself checking out when i read books like this but I thought Dr Sax did a good job of presenting data in a interesting way with lots of good examples. He also gave ways of how to implement his points, which I appreciated.

The boys I’m most concerned about don’t disdain school because they have other real-world activities they care about more. They disdain school because they disdain everything. Nothing really excites them.

Like the boys described here, when young, I struggled with videogame & porn addictions; depression; a sudden & total lack of interest in school (despite a merit scholarship) & university; a complete lack of ambition; & disinterest in real, partnered sex. I thought I was a loser, until I learned I was one of the first causalities of something global. I've overcome it all, but millions won't. It's real & catastrophic.

I've already recommended this to a friend who's the mother of 2 newborn boys; to my teacher partner, to help her understand the boys she teaches, whom, she agrees with author, are developmentally delayed compared to same-age girls, even in late adolescence; & to my uncle, whose son is abandoning school for videogames. It's reassuring & shocking to see myself in this. When younger, I was a stereotypical lost boy.

The most shocking book I've read in a long time. The author has written previously about problems unique to women & girls, & his arguments here don't diminish the plight of females. But it does seem that, recently, young men have suffered the pointiest end of the stick. Reading about the gendered effects of endocrine disruptors was scary. They make girls more girly & boys less like either sex: apathetic, drug-addled.

More profundity. Uses the will to power to explain male competitive drive & how this is hijacked by video games. Literally all obsessive gamers I've met were male. It's an addiction like any other & has serious attainment & socialising effects. ADHD medication works the same on normal & diagnosed people. Boys are diagnosed far more often than girls, & far more often than they were decades ago. Pathologising normalcy.

The effects of this early disdain for school can last a lifetime. Simply holding boys back from school for 1 year dramatically improves lifetime school achievement, because they started when their brains were developmentally ready. Another sex difference responsible for superior female achievement over the past 3 decades is male disdain for authority. They don't try to please, don't work as hard, & don't succeed.

Although I'm only 30 pages in, this book is already hugely informative & surprising. The first section deals with sex differences in school achievement. Young male & female brains develop very differently; female brains generally develop faster. This means boys in kindergarten are at a disadvantage, seem to underperform vs. girls, & may internalise feelings of inferiority & hatred of school from a very young age.

I really really hate this book already. We’re seriously talking about monkeys here… I’m going to keep reading because I like to absorb other perspectives but it’s not looking like a good outlook.

So far, I wish that everyone who has any influence with boys would pick this book up!

I can’t believe what Sunday just did.

I'm liking 'Boys Adrift' so far. The problems he points out are mostly 'obvious', but I like his discussion as to their reasons. My biggest take away is how widespread they are.

Actually listening to this one on Audible.

I actually started reading this book a week ago and just finished it today.

Such a great, quick read. Everyone who has a son, teaches boys or has a young boy in their family, should read this book. Can't wait to read Girls on Edge next.

Super interesting so far! Easy to read and compelling.

The last 60 pages (!) are endnotes, so I'm closer to the end than it seems.

I only had to read this far for work. Not sure yet if I'll keep going.

The chapter on failure to launch is so depressing. Are we doomed?