Parenting > Teens

Though today's youth culture may seem totally self-centred, kids still want close relationships with the significant adults in their lives. Like generations before them, they also want to be noticed for the contributions they can make. What they need, though, is compassion and encouragement from their parents. Combining inspiring stories from his professional experience with research from around the world, Michael Ungar reveals how the close connections kids crave, and the support adults provide, can help kids achieve their full po... read more

This book is about boyfriends and girlfriends - getting them, keeping them and moving on from them. Young people put enormous energy into these processes: they worry, they hope, they conspire and they cry because, in a sense, having a boyfriend or girlfriend is about much more than just having a boyfriend or girlfriend. Using dozens of recognisable vignettes, Luxmoore movingly describes his work with young people. In particular, he explores the dramatic conflict between young people's loving and hating as they move from the inti... read more

Many parents feel anxious about coping with teenagers - it's not surprising given all the horror stories you hear. Other parents warn us of previously docile and compliant children who appear to have undergone personality changes and become more like mini psychopaths - turning sullen, rebellious and moody overnight. You hear reports of drugs, alcohol, violence, youth suicide, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and road accidents regularly. Parenting teenagers brings a whole raft of new issues and challenges to every parent, ... read more

Teenagers are tough and anyone who has their own needs help. Here it is: a witty, enjoyable and genuinely helpful guide that breaks the mould. "Get Out Of My Life" offers practical alternatives to anger, nagging and frustration, and specific recommendations for developing better relationships with even the most difficult teenagers.This is the best survival manual for parents who find themselves marooned among volatile and incomprehensible aliens on Planet Teen. It looks at all the difficult issues of bringing up teenagers - school,... read more

How to guide the journey to adulthood. The ideas and techniques in Teen Stages include many approaches from parents who raised their children successfully - approaches that have stood the test of time. Ken and Elizabeth Mellor are internationally renowned parent educators who each have over 30 years' experience in working with children and parents.

Glasser urges parents and teachers to reject the philosophy of 'laying down the law' with teenagers (e.g. by grounding them and trying to coerce them into changing their behaviour). These strategies have never worked, says the world-renowned psychiatrist. Instead he offers an approach based on Choice Theory, spelling out parents' seven deadly habits and showing them how to achieve goals by changing their own behaviour. "A must-read for all parents with children of any age.... Should be required reading for teachers in all schools."... read more

There are hundreds of books by adults and experts giving advice to parents on parenting teenagers. This book is different. In this book,teenagers have the opportunity to guide parents on how to parent them; what works, what doesn’t and why. What better way is there than to hear it from the teenagers themselves ‘What Teens Really Want From Parents’ is for parents who want the ‘unknown’ territory of their relationship... read more

While our kids are safer now than they have ever been, we are constantly fearful for them. We drive them everywhere, organise their time, and cocoon them from every imaginable danger, assuming we're doing the right thing. Even when they are teenagers we continue to manage their lives, and unwittingly prevent their development. In this ground-breaking new book, internationally renowned family therapist and social worker Michael Ungar shows why our constant need to keep our kids safe often puts them in harm's way. By protecting them ... read more

Best-selling authors Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish examine the inevitable stresses faced by parents of teenagers. Through role play and discussion, they show how to keep communication open with rebellious offspring, how to let go gracefully and yet retain respect and some degree of co-operation throughout these difficult years.

Teenagers are tough, and anyone who has their own needs help. Here it is: a witty, enjoyable, groundbreaking and genuinely helpful guide that breaks the mould. This is the best survival guide for parents who find themselves marooned among incomprehensible and volatile aliens on Planet Teen. It looks at all the difficult issues of bringing up teenagers - school, sex, drugs and even suicide. But it's the title of the second chapter, 'What They Do and Why' that best captures the book's spirit and technique, explaining how to translate... read more

Mothers and teenage daughters argue in an attempt to negotiate changes in their relationship. Here a Cambridge University social psychologist uses case studies and conversations to show how to interpret such interactions and emerge with a new closeness. First published 2004.

When does normal teenage behaviour become something more serious, something that parents really do need to worry about and step in to deal with? From ADHD and eating disorders to depression, drug taking and suicide, Australia's leading authority on adolescent mental health talks parents through the issues. In his down-to-earth, accessible style, he offers practical advice on how to detect early warning signs, and most importantly, advises what to do when things really are going dangerously wrong.

A psychologist with a reputation for penetrating to the heart of complex parenting issues joins forces with a physician and bestselling author to tackle one of the most disturbing and misunderstood trends of our time -- peers replacing parents in the lives of our children. Dr. Neufeld has dubbed this phenomenon peer orientation, which refers to the tendency of children and youth to look to their peers for direction: for a sense of right and wrong, for values, identity and codes of behaviour. But peer orientation undermines family c... read more

In the vein of Celia Lashlie's Good Man Projectwhich became the basis for her international bestseller, He’ll Be OK, in-depth research has been undertaken with schoolboys of various ages to canvass their views on current schooling, what worries them and how schools could enhance their education opportunities. The ground-breaking result offers... read more

With illuminating case histories and wise words from other parents and writers, Confident Teens suggests ways to communicate successfully with an often uncommunicative teenager. Psychotherapist Gael Lindenfield aims to build confidence in both parent and teenager through such advice as: listen three times as much as you talk; be a safety net, not a security blanket; be a predictable parent rather than a best mate; review the rule book jointly and frequently.

The perfect book for parents who feel ill at ease or ill-equipped to discuss sex with their kids. Excellent conversation starters as well as smart answers to the difficult questions your teen will ask, and lots of great ‘just the facts’ boxes.” From beyond the birds and the bees to dating, waiting, and decision making, Amy G. Miron, M.S., and Charles D. Miron, Ph.D., sex therapists and educators (and parents themselves) provide a way to educate teens about relationship realities while inoculating th... read more

Teenagers need to feel that they are loved. Yet communicating this truth to kids can be challenging. This book will give parents new insights into how and why teens need to be loved differently from pre-teens, and about teenage misbehavior.

This is a follow-up to Michael Carr-Gregg's hugely popular "Surviving Adolescents". This time, he focuses on the special trials of raising adolescent girls: what to do when your previously quiet, beautiful and loving girl-child morphs into a restless, rebellious stranger who behaves like a responsible adult one day and a spoiled brat the next. He also explains how and why the PBFS has come about - how adolescence today is complicated by new factors such as 'KGOY' (kids getting older younger), loss of community, rampant consumerism,... read more

Does your teenager sometimes leave you feeling so far out of your depth your head hurts? Has your teenage son lost the gift of speech? Does your teenage daughter blame you for everything, including global warming? Ever found yourself being frowned at, scowled at, or just plain screamed at for no good reason? Welcome to the teenage years - you are not alone. Nigel Latta has worked extensively with teenagers, and has seen every kind of kid, family, and problem you could possibly imagine - and many you probably couldn't. In this ente... read more

As a parent you know that your child is not just another teenager, struggling to grow up. She is your daughter. That in itself makes her the most unique and important teenager in the world. But when your sweet little girl suddenly stops talking, wont do anything you tell her to do, and starts dressing like she stepped out of a celebrity magazine, you start wondering what went wrong. Michelle Mitchell has spent the last 10 years day-in, day-out, listening and talking with teenage girls about their lives, loves, hates and hopes. In t... read more