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RAISING CHILDREN IN A SOCIALLY TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
By James Garbarino. pp. 276. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1995, $25.00 (cloth).
The premise of Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment is that "the mere act of living in our society today is dangerous to the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents.... [Their] social world ... has become poisonous to their development." Intended for lay and professional readers, this book uses anecdotes and research to explain and describe social toxicity and provides antidotes to this "poison."
The book begins with a basic definition of "social toxicity." Garbarino draws a parallel between toxicity that is physical (e.g., lead, smoke, pesticides) and that which is social, consisting of increased drug use, increased violence and sexuality on television and in children's lives, the danger of AIDS, and family instability and poverty. He also cites "the increasing nastiness of the culture in which children live," meaning overexposure to stories of missing, abused, kidnapped, and murdered children; increased foul language and cynicism; decline in civility in personal relationships; and increased experiences of rejection, terror, and corruption. The book promotes the idea of childhood as a special "niche" in which to play and learn skills, and as...