Ok, this is less a review of Paul Tough‘s new book and more a post to start the conversation since none of us have read it yet. The write-up in the Wall Street Journal was intriguing enough to make us want to put our two cents in about this little gem before our little Amazon box showed up. He’s taking aim at the sacred cow of how we protect our children from adversity which, in the long run, undermines their ability to creatively overcome obstacles and find true success.

Here’s is a short synopsis from the author’s site:

Early adversity, scientists have come to understand, not only affects the conditions of children’s lives, it can also alter the physical development of their brains. But innovative thinkers around the country are now using this knowledge to help children overcome the constraints of poverty. With the right support, as Tough’s extraordinary reporting makes clear, children who grow up in the most painful circumstances can go on to achieve amazing things.

This provocative and profoundly hopeful book has the potential to change how we raise our children, how we run our schools, and how we construct our social safety net. It will not only inspire and engage readers, it will also change our understanding of childhood itself.

The thing that’s most interesting is the mounting evidence that pushes back against the hyper-aggressive nature of early childhood rearing these days. Kids are thrust into soccer, violin, Mandarin, basket weaving and calligraphy, not because they are curious or passionate about new subjects, but because parents have the delusion that this is the  price of admission to Harvard, Princeton or Yale. Our clinicians see it every day – over scheduled, over-indulged, over-stimulated kids stretched to the breaking point. They develop eating disorders, anxiety issues and substance abuse problems earlier and earlier. Just check out a pre-teens Facebook page in any upper-middle class neighborhood if you don’t believe it.

Thumbs up so far by Fonthill. Buy the book here.