Restoring Childhood

“Restoring Childhood is the book this moment needs. Peter Gray makes an irrefutable case for letting children be children and lays out a clear path to make it happen. This book will forever change how you see your kids and how they see themselves.”
— Jennifer Breheny Wallace, New York Times bestselling author of Never Enough and Mattering

“Peter Gray is a true expert on how children develop in natural environments. Whether or not you agree with his diagnosis of the current mental health crisis, Gray’s knowledge, insight, and humanity make this book an indispensable resource in the effort to solve it.”
— Steven Pinker, Harvard professor, and the author of The Blank Slate and Rationality

“In Restoring Childhood, Peter Gray gently but firmly asks us to look at how our love, fear, and obsession with perfection may be getting in the way of what our kids desperately need. Gray sits beside us, holds up the evidence, and invites us to ask, quietly and honestly, ‘What have we taken from childhood, and what might it take to put it back?’”
— Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult

“Peter Gray is a national treasure who reminds us that nature ‘wires’ children to play, explore, and seek independence—and that we thwart this inborn drive at our own peril. Fortunately, Professor Gray offers a road map for making it easier for parents to trust their kids more, worry about them less, and let them be kids. If you have kids, work with kids, or just care about kids, please read this remarkable book!”
— William R. Stixrud, PhD, clinical neuropsychologist and coauthor of The Self-Driven Child and What Do You Say?

“For anyone anxious to understand the real causes of the struggles of recent generations, read this book. A scrupulously researched, profoundly compelling explanation of what happened to childhood in America and how to make things right—for children, parents, schools, and our country.”
— Ned Johnson, coauthor of The Self-Driven Child and What Do You Say?

“In Restoring Childhood, Gray challenges the simplistic narrative that today’s generation is in crisis because of smartphones and social media, and invites us to consider the broader forces reshaping childhood. Thoughtful and deeply hopeful, this book is an important contribution to conversations about what children need to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Gray shifts the focus from restricting children’s lives to expanding them.”
— Candice L. Odgers, Chancellor’s Professor of Psychology and Informatics, University of California, Irvine

“Noted evolutionary psychologist Peter Gray dismantles many assumptions about the impact of social media and other modern threats to youth while offering a robust catalog of strategies for letting them ‘off the leash.'”
— David F. Lancy, author of Learning Without Lessons: Pedagogy in Indigenous Communities

“In recent years, parents and policymakers have been told that social media is driving a youth mental health crisis. Peter Gray sets the record straight. Children have long been telling us the truth: it is the erosion of their freedom to explore—and damaging school policies—that are doing the harm. With Dr. Gray’s insights, we can finally focus on what really matters for kids’ wellbeing.”
— Christopher J. Ferguson, Psychology Professor, social media effects research and coauthor of Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong

“Why do some children grow into happy, capable, and productive young adults—while so many others today struggle with anxiety, depression, and despair? We are all living with a nation-wide crisis in youth mental and physical health. In this landmark book, Peter Gray does more than document the problem—he shows what has gone wrong with how we are raising our children to develop into competent, successful adults. Drawing on decades of research, along with his authentic personal experiences, Gray makes clear that this crisis did not begin with smartphones or social media, but stems from over four decades of declining childhood independence and increasing academic pressure. What becomes clear is this: just as all humans require food, sleep, and social connection to thrive, children require those—and, critically, substantial time for self-directed experiences such as play—to develop the autonomy, competence, and social capacities essential for adulthood. When children are deprived of these experiences—as is increasingly the case today—the consequences extend beyond distressed children to an American society that is less capable, less resilient, and less prepared to meet the demands of 21st century life. Happily, Gray’s is not a message of despair. He points clearly toward practical ways forward, grounded in our human, biological heritage. This is a deeply informed and ultimately hopeful message for parents, educators and policy makers.”
— Stuart Brown MD, Founder, National Institute for Play