Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

Reading about my "species" emotional development was a wonderful experience. I identified with almost every issue, particularly the commentary about drinking as a substitute for emotional fulfillment. This book is an eye opener. I highly recommend it along with Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self which taught me about emotions, what each emotion means and how to best deal with them. In addition, I recommend Emotional Intelligence to understand the neurological basis of emotions.

My husband and I love this book. In the beginning, it was only I who would take the time to read it. However, when we went in to see teachers during parent/teacher conferences, each one recommended this book for our three boys. Finally, my husband decided to take their opinions to heart and read the book. I was amazed that he finished and actually showed great respect for the work and in-depth details.

It has helped us a great deal, not only with each son, but with each other as well. In fact, my husband pointed out that he felt the same way as some of the kids in the examples.

I am very much a supporter of this incredible book and cannot say enough reasons why parents of boys should buy it and read it. If you are a mom, or a dad, who can't seem to understand why your boys are doing or saying what they do, buy this book.

We also have two daughters and to be perfectly blunt, this book is not just for boys. There's often times when things will click for on the behavior of our daughters -- maybe it's because they get so much behavior habits from their brothers, two of which are step-brothers. One of the things we have enjoyed is finding out how important it is for father's to be involved the right way. This means interacting with the kids on levels that are effective for them. Also recommended: Mommy CEO. This book shares levels of importance in treating kids as individuals and fitting into their lives for a positive experience with each one. Both books are extremely reader friendly and easy to understand.

I am the Mother of three boys. My oldest are in college, I wish this book had been available when they were younger! I still have an 8 year old at home and this book has provided me with invaluable insight! I wish I could purchase a copy for everyone I know that has a son!

I read this book nearly two years ago. I've recommended it to many people since reading it. The book not only spoke to me as a father (of two, one boy and one girl), but also to the boy that I once was. The book is very well written and has a powerful message: pay attention to your boy's emotional development. Another outstanding book is John Gottman's "The Heart of Parenting: Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child". It provides specific guidance on how to develop emotion coaching skills.

I don't know why I bought this book - I hate books filled with what I call "psycho-babble". But lucky for me, this book is not one of them, and I am very grateful I did buy it. I am the mother of a little boy, and I just wanted to be a good mother to my son, since I realize that boys really do think and react differently than girls. I hoped this book would provide insight into my sons thinking that I could use to relate to him and help him through the hurdles he would face as he grew up. It did that - and more. It was an easy, fast read. I really couldn't put it down once I started to read it. It is written in a very conversational tone, as if the authors were just chit-chatting about their experiences with boys, not lecturing me on how and what and when to do certain things. I really felt that I learned a LOT about the psyche of a boy, and better understand how boys think and why they react certain ways. But most surprisingly, I found myself learning a lot about my HUSBAND from this book. I finally got some real insight into some of his more mysterious (to me) behaviors and thinking processes. This book was a revelation. And when I was done, I made my husband read it, and he, too, was stunned and amazed at the insight shown in this book. I highly recommend this book if you have a son - or if you are married to one - or if you are a son yourself.