The author of 10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting offers a practical approach to raising a kind, honorable, and compassionate teen. Parents are shown how to give their teenager the spiritual resources he or she will need to become a safe, happy adult.
As we enter a new millennium, the teenage years have never been more difficult. We can tell by their behaviour: School shootings. Teen pregnancy, Fatal car crashes. Binge drinking. Dropping out. But now's not the time to give up on the next generation, says author Meg Meeker, a Michigan child and adolescent physician, who has worked closely with teens for nearly twenty years. Teens, she believes, are crying out for help -- and it's up to the parents and adults in their lives to respond. This book will help you understand why our teens are getting into trouble. Why teens are depressed and suicidal. Why teens are looking for love in the wrong places. Dr Meeker contends that the fundamental needs of teens are not being met, which results in them trying to find their own way in an unfriendly culture. Yet all is not lost, if adults are willing to be there for the teens in their lives. Uplifting, frank, encouraging and conversational, this book will inspire any adult to get involved. So what are you waiting for?
Parents, do you want to help your child through the peaks and valleys of adolescence? By understanding what your teen is experiencing, you can better communicate and help them make wise choices as they attempt to establish their independence. As teens progress into adulthood, there seems to be a shift in where the brain routes judgment calls. Mixed with the abuse of alcohol or illegal drugs, or risky behavior in general, it becomes more difficult for the young adult mind to fully understand the consequences of some choices they make. This book helps teenagers refocus their energy, and make a smoother transition throughout adolescence into early adulthood.
In innumerable discussions and activities dedicated to better understanding and helping teenagers, one aspect of teenage life is curiously overlooked. Very few such efforts pay serious attention to the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of American adolescents. But many teenagers are very involved in religion. Surveys reveal that 35% attend religious services weekly and another 15% attend at least monthly. 60% say that religious faith is important in their lives. 40% report that they pray daily. 25% say that they have been "born again." Teenagers feel good about the congregations they belong to. Some say that faith provides them with guidance and resources for knowing how to live well. What is going on in the religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers? What do they actually believe? What religious practices do they engage in? Do they expect to remain loyal to the faith of their parents? Or are they abandoning traditional religious institutions in search of a new, more authentic "spirituality"? This book attempts to answer these and related questions as definitively as possible. It reports the findings of The National Study of Youth and Religion, the largest and most detailed such study ever undertaken. The NYSR conducted a nationwide telephone survey of teens and significant caregivers, as well as nearly 300 in-depth face-to-face interviews with a sample of the population that was surveyed. The results show that religion and spirituality are indeed very significant in the lives of many American teenagers. Among many other discoveries, they find that teenagers are far more influenced by the religious beliefs and practices of their parents and caregivers than commonly thought. They refute the conventional wisdom that teens are "spiritual but not religious." And they confirm that greater religiosity is significantly associated with more positive adolescent life outcomes. This eagerly-awaited volume not only provides an unprecedented understanding of adolescent religion and spirituality but, because teenagers serve as bellwethers for possible future trends, it affords an important and distinctive window through which to observe and assess the current state and future direction of American religion as a whole.
Many of us worry about our kids getting pulled under by our culture's negative currents. We try to shout over the roar of media blitzes, misguided values in the schools, and peer pressure. And we wonder how to raise faithful children. For parents who sometimes feel they haven't done enough, Jones provides ideas for taking small steps toward communication and intimacy, showing you how to take advantage of teachable moments by fully "focusing on the present."
Nurturing the Souls of Our Children proposes that psychologically and spiritually balanced parents are best equipped to relate more deeply and joyfully to the uniqueness of their children. This is nurturing the soul. It is what children today need more than anything else. Based on their experience as parents, as church ministers, and as professional counselors for over 25 years, Dr. Thomas Geary and his wife Bonnie are well qualified to integrate the psychological with the spiritual. Their book offers hope to frequently overwhelmed and confused parents searching for values and guidelines in an increasingly materialistic society. Their suggestions are clothed in practical, humorous, and touching stories reflective of the real world where families live.
It’s not easy to be a teen girl, and it’s definitely not easy parenting one. Parents everywhere struggle to respond appropriately to challenging behavior, hit-or-miss communication, and fluctuating moods commonly exhibited by teenage girls. More than previous generations, today’s teen girls face a daunting range of stressors that put them at risk for a range of serious issues, including self-harming behaviors, substance abuse, eating disorders, anxiety, and depression. Is it any wonder that parents are overwhelmed? Parenting a Teen Girl is a guide for busy parents who want bottom-line information and tips that make sense—and work. It also offers scripts to improve communication, and exercises to navigate stressful interactions with skill and compassion. Whether your teen girl is struggling with academic pressure, social difficulties, physical self-care, or technology overload, this book offers practical advice to help you connect with your teen girl. Parents and teens alike can enjoy a positive connection once common parent-teen pitfalls are replaced with solid understanding and strategies that work. In this book, you will learn how to: •Maximize your teen’s healthy development •Understand what underlies her moods and behavior •Implement strategies for positive results •Communicate effectively about difficult issues •Enjoy and appreciate time with your teen daughter
From Michael Gurian, the best-selling author of The Minds of Boys and The Wonder of Girls, comes the next-step book that shows how any parent can tune into a child’s unique core personality, hard wiring, temperament, and genetic predisposition in order to help that child flourish and thrive. Based on the most recent brain research, Nurture the Nature features the Ten Tips for Nurturing the Nature of Your Baby, self-tests, checklists, and many other tools for you to help your kids get exactly the kind of support they need, from infants to adolescents. While offering positive ideas for nurturing your child, Gurian also shows how to avoid the stress, pressures, and excessive competition of what he identifies as social trends parenting. Most parents know instinctively that their child is unique and has special potential, weaknesses, and strengths. No child is a blank slate. Gurian calls on parents to turn away from one-size-fits-all approaches and instead support the individual core nature of a child with effective and customized loving care.
With more teenagers applying to college today than ever before, the competition has never been stiffer, and the stress can become unbearable not just for teens, but for the entire family. In Don't Worry, You'll Get In, one of the country's top college admissions counselors Michele Hernandez and leading parenting expert Mimi Doe join forces to bring teens the first college admissions guide of its kind: an easy and accessible book full of 100 specific tips to navigate the admissions process successfully and calmly. For each step, Hernandez explains to teens in simple terms exactly what they need to do, while Mimi Doe empowers them to tackle that step with confidence and in the least stressful way. Covering everything from standardized testing to summer plans to writing a great essay, Don't Worry, You'll Get In is the perfect guide for high schoolers who want to be accepted at the school of their choice without burning out for the sake of getting in.
The greatest gifts that a child can receive are an opened mind, a caring heart, and ignited creativity. This fully expanded, illustrated edition of Nurturing Spirituality in Children includes sixty-two simple and thought-provoking lessons that can be shared with children in less than ten minutes each. The lessons are easy to prepare and understand; they use commonly available materials and complement a wide variety of religious perspectives. Children who develop a healthy balance of mind and spirit are better able to respond to life's challenges when given the tools to think and discover for themselves. Dr. Jenkins gives scores of age-appropriate activities that help children learn empathy, trust, forgiveness, growth, and inner peace.