Captain Andy Poppens

The psychologist Michael G. Thompson, the author of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys (Ballantine, 2000), says it isn't a question of girls and boys, just a question of well-behaved kids and not-well-behaved kids; everyone should learn the same lessons about care and consideration and even about giving up a seat on the subway."I think manners get you very far in a rather uncivil world," Dr. Thompson said. "A simple respect for adults goes a long way in this day and age." I think politeness is the surest way that a boy can reassure the adult world that he is O.K. and trustworthy.