I am been re-reading a book I covered last fall, Boys Adrift, by Dr. Leonard Sax M.D..Ph.D. Sax is a family physician, and research psychologist who has also written about gender differences in education. Since I often work with families struggling with parenting children who are facing challenges in school or have a label of ADHD, some of his ideas always give me food for thought . Sax posits that five factors are contributing to the decline in boys and young men achieving and staying motivated.

These are:
~Video games, in particular violent games, and the effect they have on brain development.

~Teaching methods in schools. He discusses among other ideas the “feminization” of education.

~Prescription drug use in children to manage ADHD. He writes about the increase in the diagnosis of ADHD and the exploding number of  prescriptions for powerful stimulant drugs to manage this diagnosis.

~Endocrine distruptors in the environment leading to later maturation in boys and earlier maturation in girls.

~Devaluation of masculinity in society and a lack of positive male role models in mainstream culture.

As a therapist who has worked with hundreds of clearly over-medicated foster children in the Texas system, I found several of his ideas to be valuable.  While I may not agree with everything he writes, the book is fascinating and a quick read.  Stay cool and
Be well,
Laura