Using this thoughtful guide, parents can help older teens confidently navigate the issues and developmental transitions that will inevitably arise as they prepare to leave home. This road map for mentoring and advising young people to make good choices from a positive, strength-based perspective covers such topics as finding a good fit for school and work, dealing with money, living independently, setting goals, caring for personal needs, dealing with emotional challenges, handling new relationships, and developing a future-focused orientation. Each chapter also includes checklists, interviews, and resource sheets for parents and teens to help prepare for and succeed with this important life transition.
Turning 18 makes you an adult, but it doesn’t magically give you all the knowledge that you need function like one. To help young adults become familiar with many of the topics that grown-ups need to know, the book provides easy-to-understand explanations of subjects related to civic responsibilities, employment, living arrangements, paying off debt, owning a car, saving and investing, traveling, and others. The book is easy to read and uses concise descriptions and cartoons to summarize the main ideas. It answers three main questions about each of the items covered: · When is it relevant? · What is it? · Why it matters?
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An award-winning guide to the sometimes erratic and confusing behavior of teenage girls from the author of Untangled and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers Dr. Lisa Damour worked as an expert collaborator on Pixar’s Inside Out 2! “The most down-to-earth, readable parenting book I’ve come across in a long time.”—The Washington Post In this sane, highly engaging, and informed guide for parents of daughters, Dr. Damour draws on decades of experience and the latest research to reveal the seven distinct—and absolutely normal—developmental transitions that turn girls into grown-ups, including Parting with Childhood, Contending with Adult Authority, Entering the Romantic World, and Caring for Herself. Providing realistic scenarios and welcome advice on how to engage daughters in smart, constructive ways, Untangled gives parents a broad framework for understanding their daughters while addressing their most common questions, including • My thirteen-year-old rolls her eyes when I try to talk to her, and only does it more when I get angry with her about it. How should I respond? • Do I tell my teen daughter that I’m checking her phone? • My daughter suffers from test anxiety. What can I do to help her? • Where’s the line between healthy eating and having an eating disorder? • My teenage daughter wants to know why I’m against pot when it’s legal in some states. What should I say? • My daughter’s friend is cutting herself. Do I call the girl’s mother to let her know? Perhaps most important, Untangled helps mothers and fathers understand, connect, and grow with their daughters. When parents know what makes their daughter tick, they can embrace and enjoy the challenge of raising a healthy, happy young woman. BOOKS FOR A BETTER LIFE AWARD WINNER
PARENTING NEVER ENDS. From the founders of the #1 site for parents of teens and young adults comes an essential guide for building strong relationships with your teens and preparing them to successfully launch into adulthood The high school and college years: an extended roller coaster of academics, friends, first loves, first break-ups, driver’s ed, jobs, and everything in between. Kids are constantly changing and how we parent them must change, too. But how do we stay close as a family as our lives move apart? Enter the co-founders of Grown and Flown, Lisa Heffernan and Mary Dell Harrington. In the midst of guiding their own kids through this transition, they launched what has become the largest website and online community for parents of fifteen to twenty-five year olds. Now they’ve compiled new takeaways and fresh insights from all that they’ve learned into this handy, must-have guide. Grown and Flown is a one-stop resource for parenting teenagers, leading up to—and through—high school and those first years of independence. It covers everything from the monumental (how to let your kids go) to the mundane (how to shop for a dorm room). Organized by topic—such as academics, anxiety and mental health, college life—it features a combination of stories, advice from professionals, and practical sidebars. Consider this your parenting lifeline: an easy-to-use manual that offers support and perspective. Grown and Flown is required reading for anyone looking to raise an adult with whom you have an enduring, profound connection.
Key strategies for parents of teens in the crucial window before that "launch" into the real world. Learn how to set them up for success through effective communication, valuing and cultivating their unique strengths, and empowering versus control. Help your teens build a strong personal leadership foundation that will enable them to live successful, independent lives of purpose, integrity, and impact.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING GUIDE THAT PARENTS WILL WANT FOR THEIR TEENS This thorough, concise guide offers straight talk about: • The male and female body as it changes and matures. • Teen relationships: what it takes to create happy, supportive, positive, and meaningful connections with family, friends, and others. • Identity empowerment: how to be authentic and thrive in today’s world. • Sex and sexuality for boys and girls: how teens should take care of their bodies, embrace their experiences, and strengthen self-esteem. • Strategies for working through the toughest challenges, including bullying, sexual abuse, eating disorders, pregnancy, and more. Praise for Being a Teen “A frank and candid resource for adolescents.”—People “Fonda’s warmth and love for the teen community is evident.”—Publishers Weekly “Clear, practical, and riveting, Being a Teen cuts away at myth, enhances teens’ self-esteem, and arms them with a trove of useful information. Beautifully organized . . . Any parent, teacher, coach, or doctor needs to read this authoritative guide. What a lifesaver for our boys and girls!”—William S. Pollack, PhD, author of the international bestseller Real Boys and Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School “Being a Teen should be in the hands of every teen in the world. It is a myth-busting, fact-filled treasure full of life information all teens want and need to know.”—Christiane Northrup, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom “Clear, unflinching, and nonjudgmental . . . a reliable guide to the turbulent physical and social transitions of adolescence.”—Michael Kimmel, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, Stony Brook University, and author of Guyland “A comprehensive, honest, fun-to-read book for today’s teenagers. This delightful book will be used again and again.”—The Reverend Debra W. Haffner, president, Religious Institute, and author of From Diapers to Dating “Detailed, accurate and practical . . . an excellent resource.”—Paul Kivel, author of Boys Will Be Men
Nautilus Gold Award Winner: Parenting & Family A practical guide to understanding teens from bestselling author and global youth advocate Josh Shipp. In 2015, Harvard researchers found that every child who does well in the face of adversity has had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult. But Josh Shipp didn’t need Harvard to know that. Once an at-risk foster kid, he was headed straight for trouble until he met the man who changed his life: Rodney, the foster parent who refused to quit on Shipp and got him to believe in himself. Now, in The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans, Shipp shows all of us how to be that caring adult in a teenager’s life. Stressing the need for compassion, trust, and encouragement, he breaks down the phases of a teenage human from sixth to twelfth grade, examining the changes, goals, and mentality of teenagers at each stage. Shipp offers revelatory stories that take us inside the teen brain, and shares wisdom from top professionals and the most expert grown-ups. He also includes practice scripts that address tough issues, including: FORGIVENESS: What do I do when a teen has been really hurt by someone and it’s not their fault? COMMUNICATION: How do I get a teen to talk to me? They just grunt. TRUST: My teen blew it. My trust is gone. Where do we go from here? BULLYING: Help! A teen (or their friend) is being harassed. DIFFICULT AND AWKWARD CONVERSATIONS: Drugs. Death. Sex. Oh my. Written in Shipp’s playfully authoritative, no-nonsense voice, The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans tells his story and unpacks practical strategies that can make a difference. Ultimately, it's not about shortcuts or magic words—as Shipp reminds us, it’s about investing in kids and giving them the love, time, and support they need to thrive. And that means every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.
From an expert in adolescent psychology comes a groundbreaking, timely, and necessary guide for parents of the 2.2 million young adults in America who are struggling to find their way in the world. In Dr. Mark McConville's decades of experience as a family clinical psychologist, perhaps no problem has been more fraught than that of young adults who fail to successfully transition from adolescence into adulthood. These kids--technically adults--just can't get it together: They can't hold a job, they struggle to develop meaningful relationships, and they often end up back in their parents' spare bedroom or on the couch. In fact, studies show that one in four Americans aged twenty-five to thirty-four neither work nor attend school, and it's a problem that spans all socioeconomic and geographic boundaries. McConville investigates the root causes of this problem: Why are modern kids "failing to launch" in ever-increasing numbers? The key, McConville has found, is that they are struggling with three critical skills that are necessary to make the transition from childhood to adulthood--finding a sense of purpose, developing administrative responsibility, and cultivating interdependence. In Failure to Launch, McConville breaks these down into achievable, accessible goals and offers a practical guide for the whole family, to help parents instill those skills in their young adults--and to get their kids into the real world, ready to start their lives.
Are you struggling to connect with your child now that they've left the nest? Are you feeling the tension and heartache as your relationship dynamic begins to change? In Doing Life with Your Adult Children, bestselling author and parenting expert Jim Burns provides practical advice and hopeful encouragement for navigating this tough yet rewarding transition. If you've raised a child, you know that parenting doesn't stop when they turn eighteen. In many ways, your relationship gets even more complicated--your heart and your head are as involved as ever, but you can feel things shifting, whether your child lives under your roof or rarely stays in contact. Doing Life with Your Adult Children helps you navigate this rich and challenging season of parenting. Speaking from his own personal and professional experience, Burns offers practical answers to the most common questions he's received over the years, including: My child's choices are breaking my heart--where did I go wrong? Is it OK to give advice to my grown child? What's the difference between enabling and helping? What boundaries should I have if my child moves back home? What do I do when my child doesn't seem to be maturing into adulthood? How do I relate to my grown child's significant other? What does it mean to have healthy financial boundaries? How can I support my grown children when I don't support their values? Including positive principles on bringing kids back to faith, ideas on how to leave a legacy as a grandparent, and encouragement for every changing season, Doing Life with Your Adult Children is a unique book on your changing role in a calling that never ends.
Ever wish parenting came with a do-over button? “Here’s where I messed up. . ." Whenever I say those words during my parenting workshops, you can hear a pin drop. Parents are on the edges of their seats. “And here’s what I’d do differently next time. . ." That’s when every pen in the room begins writing furiously. Let’s face it. Hindsight is 20/20. If you ever find yourself saying "I wish I had a do-over. . ." You're not alone! Join author and youth culture expert, Jonathan McKee, as he shares from his own personal parenting experiences of raising three kids, while making purposeful, effective tweaks along the way. Delivered with a refreshing blend of humor and vulnerability, the author's candid style and real-world application will equip you with solid, helpful practices you can actually use in your own home. With chapters like "Let It Go," "Press Pause," and "Tip the Scales," McKee provides the honest answers you're seeking as you parent your kids.