7 Things Your Teenager Won't Tell You (eBook)

Jenifer Lippincott, Ph.D. Robin M. Deutsch (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2008 | 1. Auflage
272 Seiten
Random House Publishing Group (Verlag)
978-0-307-49075-9 (ISBN)

Infos

REVISED AND UPDATED 2011 EDITIONThe essence of adolescence hasn't changed since this book was first published in 2005. Their brains haven't skipped a growth spurt; their search for identity hasn't been called off or even detoured; they haven't forgotten how to speak with the ease of attitude. And yet, fingers fly across keys to a host of new adolescent domains--from texting to iTunes, from chats to anything-on-demand. This update traverses new adolescent territory, both charted and uncharted, to bring parents up-to-speed on what to expect and how to deal.Every teenager keeps secrets, and if you're like most parents, you worry about what your kids don't tell you--especially when they prefer text messages and social networking sites to face-to-face conversation. Now this popular guide has been revised and updated to address the challenges parents face with a wired and Web-savvy generation. Jenifer Lippincott and Robin Deutsch offer a deceptively simple plan for talking to your kids that's based on a simple set of rules: Teens need to stay safe, show respect, and keep in touch--online, and in real life.

Textauszug

The Rules of PlayIs it possible to achieve lasting peace during our children's adolescence under the guidance of only three commandments: Stay safe, show respect, keep in touch? While these three simple rules may not guarantee a smooth ride through adolescence, they can ease some of the stresses that tend to ambush our teens--and us--as we all struggle toward (their) adulthood.

Our Own Adolescence--A Look Back

Though we've all searched, few of us have found a reliable way to hold a conversation with our adolescents that consistently evades conflict, or at least contention. Why is it so easy to forget that we're the grown-ups? Too often, the moment we detect static in the communication lines with our adolescents, we tend to rush to the defensive, either for protection or to rack up another parenting victory.

Us: Don't you speak to me in that tone of voice! Keep it up and you can forget your plans for the weekend.

Meant as harmless pinpricks aimed at our adolescents' psyches, these types of ultimatums tend to choke off most conversations, leaving tempers smoldering.

Them: You can't do that! You know I already have plans. Why do you always have to spoil everything?

This kind of conversational tack rarely heads in a positive direction.

Frazzled by these types of savaged conversations, we wonder why we are not entitled to wear the same cloak of respect as that of our parents. While theirs fit squarely upon shoulders that flaunted an air of unassailable power, that same cloak hangs awkwardly on us, out of style and ill fitting. Lest we forget, our parents ruled in a different kingdom, and many of us, as their subjects, were not always the loyal followers that they believed us to be.

Why aren't we able to engender the same obsequiousness in our adolescents as many of us conveyed to our parents? As products of a different era, we came of age in a time when the fruits of our parents' labors bought us, their offspring, the ultimate luxury--free time. Unleashed from the burden of contributing to family survival, we never questioned the leisurely pace with which we were allowed to saunter through our pre-adult years, urged to learn and explore to our heart's content, rewarded for any glory that showcased our parents' successes (however modest by today's standards).

Our parents, whether participants or direct descendants of a victorious postwar generation, led the charge to create a better one, decorated with opportunity, cushioned by heightened levels of comfort. Conceived in glory, we, as the lucky benefactors, were liberated from societal debts or struggle for anything but our own causes. And so we became the early adapters, the birthright members of a whole new era of adolescence. With a mandate to go forth and excel, we were fearless in our pursuit of our parents' promises.

Wanting for little, we searched for more and in doing so created loftier goals and even higher aspirations than a comfortable home, a car or two in the driveway, and the promise of a good education. Time and opportunity allowed us to both experiment and question. Through experimentation, we proved that boundaries confined only the meek. Better jobs, more money, higher pinnacles of success were all achievable. Through questioning, we discovered that nothing was sacrosanct, not our parents' authority, not the government, not even the law. Regardless of the degree of difficulty of our personal journeys through adolescence, we proved it to be a profitable investment for our parents, thereby entrenching it as a necessary and essential gateway to adulthood.

Why the history lesson? Perhaps to shed new light on why our adolescents think, act,...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 10.12.2008
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Familie / Erziehung
• ISBN-10: 0-307-49075-0 / 0307490750
• ISBN-13: 978-0-307-49075-9 / 9780307490759