Praise for Hello, Cruel World!
“A much-needed manual for building character in kids. Melinda Wenner Moyer is a leading voice on parenting, and her book is packed with evidence-based, nonobvious practical advice for nurturing resilience, kindness, critical thinking, and well-being.” —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again, and host of the podcast Re:Thinking
“In Hello, Cruel World!, Melinda Wenner Moyer tackles the most pressing and controversial issues in modern parenting with remarkable clarity and depth. Her strategies, rooted in cutting-edge science and real-world experience, help parents understand how to foster compassion and resilience, navigate the social media landscape, engage with kids in ways that will reduce bias and polarization, teach key information literacy skills, and more. Hello, Cruel World! is an essential roadmap for parenting in the 21st century—an indispensable guide for any parent trying to raise a confident, compassionate, self-aware child in today’s tumultuous climate.” —Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling co-author of The Whole-Brain Child
“Melinda Wenner Moyer has done it again. A timely companion to her best-selling How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes, Hello, Cruel World! might be my new favorite parenting book. It’s eminently readable and grounded in both solid research and the reality of modern parenting. If you’ve ever wondered (or worried) about how to guide your kids through the challenges of making friends, making smart choices around drugs and alcohol (even when their friends aren’t), and staying competent, kind, and curious amidst the chaos of life, this is the book for you. If I could pick one book to put in the hands of every parent, this would be the one!” —Carla Naumburg, PhD, author of How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids
“It can be terrifying to make decisions as a parent in an increasingly overwhelming world full of bias, polarization, and disinformation. But having this book on my shelf just made the job easier, because Melinda Wenner Moyer brings her impeccable scientific reporting skills to grapple with all of the big questions that keep us up at night—and her solutions and strategies are realistic and empowering for parents and kids alike. Hello, Cruel World! is required reading for any parent hoping to raise good humans today.” —Virginia Sole-Smith, New York Times bestselling author of Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture
“Melinda Wenner Moyer is a great writer—funny, sharp, and always impeccably researched and scientifically accurate. This new book is a masterclass for parents who want to help kids navigate the messy, imperfect world outside our homes and beyond our control.” —Michele Borba, Ed.D., author of Thrivers
“If you’re confounded by our culture and want to raise children who can not only navigate our world but evolve it for the better, Hello, Cruel World! is an essential guide. It’s science-based, profound, and intuitive, and full of techniques to apply not only to our parenting, but to ourselves.” —Elise Loehnen, New York Times bestselling author of On Our Best Behavior
Hello, Cruel World!
Science-based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times
“Illuminating… The world might indeed be cruel, but Ms. Moyer’s hopeful guide insists that parents can raise children not merely to endure it but to improve it.” — The Wall Street Journal
“There are some books that I return to time and time again to help me with parenting — and life itself. Science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer’s new book … is destined to become one of those well-thumbed manuals.” — The iPaper, UK
From the author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes comes a science-based, hopeful guide on how to raise children who will not just survive, but thrive in this challenging, terrifying world—and who could ultimately help save it.
In the blink of an eye, our kids will be adults facing countless serious threats—climate change, gun violence, political polarization, and disinformation, to name but a few. We’re not going to be able to solve all these intractable problems before our kids grow up—so how are we to prepare them for an impossibly complex and scary future?
Plagued by this question, award-winning science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer interviewed parenting experts and researchers across multiple fields—psychology, education, information literacy, technology, business, and even addiction. What she discovered: even in these uncertain times, we can still teach our kids how to take care of themselves, fight for what they believe in, and bridge divides in ways most adults aren’t equipped to do.
In Hello, Cruel World!, Moyer provides practical, comprehensive, science-backed tools to help our children handle the world they will inherit. Her strategies help children develop three core attributes—coping mechanisms, connection techniques, and cultivation practices—so that kids can learn to set boundaries, take responsibility for their actions, build healthy relationships in turbulent times, and much more. By being activists in our parenting, we can set our kids up to not just survive, but also build a better world for themselves and future generations.
Press for Hello, Cruel World!
“Illuminating… The world might indeed be cruel, but Ms. Moyer’s hopeful guide insists that parents can raise children not merely to endure it but to improve it.” — The Wall Street Journal
“Ever wondered: When do you talk to your kids about money? How do you help them unwind in a society where the default is constant activity? Why are there so many parenting trends and no actual … answers? Hello, Cruel World! … culls the best research for a variety of parenting dilemmas, from social media use to choosing extracurriculars to discussing family finances.” – The Boston Globe
“The latest book by science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer should be the top of your pile. Moyer oozes empathy and can help you take a kids-eye view on even their most infuriating behaviors. . . . one book that won’t end up gathering dust on your nightstand.” —New Scientist
“Grounding ideas for parents struggling to create a stable and secure base for their children—and, really, for all children—amid these and other anxiety-provoking elements of our modern world… I love her clear, nuanced, calming, and socially and politically aware advice.” — Greater Good magazine
“There are some books that I return to time and time again to help me with parenting – and life itself. Science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer’s new book … is destined to become one of those well-thumbed manuals.” — The iPaper, UK
“There’s a lot parents can do to help their kids meet the challenges of the world we live in…. Moyer surveys scientific research on kids’ mental health and ways to improve it.” — Scientific American
Listen to Melinda talk about her book on the Culture Study podcast with Anne Helen Petersen
Listen to Melinda on the Daily Stoic podcast with Ryan Holiday
Listen to Melinda on Slate‘s How To! podcast
Listen to Melinda on the Raising Good Humans podcast with Aliza Pressman
Listen to Melinda on the This is So Awkward podcast with Vanessa Kroll Bennett and Cara Natterson