Identity Project

Leonard Sax, MD, PhD

Family Physician

Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D. is a family physician with more than 30 years of clinical experience. Over the past 22 years, he has visited more than 500 schools across the United States and worldwide, leading workshops for teachers and speaking to parents about child and adolescent development. He has published four books for parents: Why Gender Matters, Boys Adrift, Girls on the Edge, and The Collapse of Parenting, which was a New York Times bestseller. Dr. Sax graduated Phi Beta Kappa at age 19 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and went on to earn both a Ph.D. in psychology and an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Sax lives with his wife and daughter in Pennsylvania.

Leonard Sax's Recommended Resources

The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups

In The Collapse of Parenting, internationally acclaimed author Leonard Sax argues that rising levels of obesity, depression, and anxiety among young people can be traced to parents abdicating their authority. The result is children who have no standard of right and wrong, who lack discipline, and who look to their peers and the Internet for direction. Sax shows how parents must reassert their authority - by limiting time with screens, by encouraging better habits at the dinner table, and by teaching humility and perspective - to help their children thrive in an increasingly complicated world.

Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls--Sexual Identity, the Cyberbubble, Obsessions, Environmental Toxins

Young women are at risk today. In Girls on the Edge, Dr. Leonard Sax shares stories of girls who look confident and strong on the outside but are fragile within. He shows why a growing proportion of teen and tween girls are confused about their sexual identity, misled by their own dreams, or obsessed with social media. Dr. Sax provides parents with tools to help girls become confident women, along with practical tips on helping your daughter choose a sport, nurturing her spirit through female-centered activities, and more.

Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men

Something scary is happening to boys today. From kindergarten to college, American boys are, on average, less resilient and less ambitious than they were a mere twenty years ago. The gender gap in college attendance and graduation rates has widened dramatically. While Emily is working hard at school and getting A's, her brother Justin is goofing off. He's more concerned about getting to the next level in his videogame than about finishing his homework. Now, Dr. Leonard Sax delves into the scientific literature and draws on more than twenty years of clinical experience to explain why boys and young men are failing in school and disengaged at home. He shows how social, cultural, and biological factors have created an environment that is literally toxic to boys. He also presents practical solutions, sharing strategies which educators have found effective in re-engaging these boys at school, as well as handy tips for parents about everything from homework, to videogames, to medication.

Why Gender Matters, Second Edition: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences

A revised and updated edition (with more than 70% new material) of the evergreen classic about the innate differences between boys and girls and how best to parent and teach girls and boys successfully, with completely new chapters on sexual orientation and on transgender and intersex kids.