A Survival Guide To Parenting Teens: Talking To Your Kids About Sexting, Drinking, Drugs, And Other Things That Freak You Out

Turn back the clocks! Your sweet child has morphed into a teen. And it''s no longer just a messy bedroom or an attitude with a capital "A" causing concern. There''s a whole new range of issues on the horizon.

What if your daughter texts a naked picture to a "boyfriend"...which he then forwards to the entire class? What if your son becomes increasingly withdrawn...Or your child is being bullied online? Would you know what to do? You could read a whole book on teen psychology--but who has the time! As a parent, what you need most is quick and candid advice for dealing with the issue at hand. After all, if you say the right thing you will open up the lines of communication, but say the wrong thing...and WATCH OUT.

A Survival Guide to Parenting Teens is the solution. Covering a broad range of issues from the terrifying (sex, drinking, drugs, depression) to the frustrating (defiance, laziness, conformity, entitlement), parenting expert Joani Geltman approaches each of the 80 topics with honesty and a dash of humor. Want to understand why teens do what they do? Joani reveals what they are thinking and feeling--and what developmental factors are involved. She then explains how to approach each problem in a way that lets your kid know you "get it" and leads to truly productive conversations.

From lying to sexting to falling grades, the teenage years can be an uphill battle. Here is the no-nonsense guide you need to get your teen talking, listening, and back on track.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Ari Graynor

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART ONE Just Tell Me What to Do About . . . Raising a Teen

1 Deflection and Denial: Your Teen’s Main Defense Mechanisms

2 My Teenage Clone: The Power of Conformity

3 Getting Your Teen Up in the Morning: Strategies for Eliminating the Daily Fight from the Morning Routine

4 You Can’t Always Get What You Want: The Demanding and Entitled Teen

5 Too Much Time on Their Hands: The Busier the Teen, the More Motivated

6 The Power of Puberty: Changing Body, Changing Brain

7 L Is for Lazy: Getting Your Teens to Do What You Want Them to Do

8 Trust vs. Temptation: How to Help a Sneaky Teen

9 Lies of Omission: “Oh. I Didn’t Think I Had to Tell You That”

10 Why Don’t Boys Talk? A Different Kind of Silent Treatment

11 My Kid the Quitter: Why Won’t My Teen Stick with Anything?

12 The Parent-Teen Power Struggle: You Can’t Make Me

13 Helping Your Teen with Remembering: You Forgot Your __________ Again?

14 Teen Self-Absorption: My Teen the Narcissist

15 My Teen the Pit Bull: Never Takes No for an Answer

16 The Teen Who Talks Back: The Kid’s Got Attitude

17 The Messy Room: To Clean or Not to Clean

PART TWO Just Tell Me What to Do About . . . Keeping My Teen Motivated and Engaged in School

18 Why Can’t My Teen Do Better? How to Assess Achievement

19 Studying and Learning vs. Texting and Facebook: Strategies for Time Management

20 The Plight of the Homework Avoider: It’s Not Just Laziness

21 The Drama of Exams: A Strategy for Success

22 The Report Card: A Call to Action

23 Summer Reading: Thank You Teachers, for Ruining My Last Few Weeks of Summer

PART THREE Just Tell Me What to Do About . . . Navigating the College Process

24 Senioritis-Parentitis: Surviving the Application Process and Tips for Successful College Visits

25 Eenie, Meenie, Miney Mo, to Which College Should I Go? A Roadmap for Decision Making

26 What to