Book Review: The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life

Having two sisters, I wasn’t sure what to expect when the ob/gyn looked at the ultrasound and announced, “It’s a boy!” And the past six years of parenting have been full of surprises.  In “The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life,” best-selling author and family therapist Michael Gurian teams up with educator/trainer Kathy Stevens to provide much-needed information about the unique characteristics of males.
 
Any parent who has both a son and a daughter realizes there are more differences than just the color of their bibs.  Remember the whole “nurture versus nature” discussion?  Science has answered the question about whether there are significant biological differences between the genders with a resounding “yes.”
 
In a “Did You Know” section of the book, the authors point out that boys have more dopamine in their bloodstreams (which increases impulsive risk behavior), learn better if moving; and don’t multitask as well as females due to differently sized “corpus callosums.”  It even sheds light on why boys fidget or men tap pencils when bored, although it doesn’t explain their inability to put the toilet seat down.
 
The book deftly describes differences, but also advises how to let our boys flourish in a society where they are lagging behind. This is needed now, apparently, more than ever. Boys represent 80% of disciplinary problems, 70% of the learning disabled, 80% of child Ritalin users, and 80% of high school drop-outs, and only 44% of college students. Ms. Stevens told me recently that parents should be “looking at their kids, paying attention to who they are, and understanding the biological difference between boys and girls.”
 
In my own house, my daughter quietly reads books while my son throws airplanes into the ceiling fan. “The Minds of Boys” sheds light on these gender differences and empowers parents to celebrate “boyish” behavior -- with scientific data, practical learning tips, and anecdotes that resonate deeply within the heart of anyone who’s heard the words “It’s a boy” and felt they needed a little guidance.

“A little guidance” is what these book attempt to provide.  Ed Asner famously said, "Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare.”  With interesting data points and advice, this book seeks to equip parents to battle a culture too frequently working against them.