Teenagers and Parents: Ten Steps for a Better Relationship

Sensible, practical, and readable, this guide for parents of teenagers offers examples, dialogues and friendly, usable advice on every page. Ten well-illustrated steps foster mutual respect and open communication in the family and offer guidelines and alternatives to punishment, influencing behavior, improving school performance, and building self-esteem and confidence. For parents feeling used and manipulated by their teens, the books lists nine parent rights that can help them protect their feelings and stop the abuse. The author is Dr. Roger McIntire, father of three, who taught child psychology and principles of family counseling and therapy at the University of Maryland for 32 years. His other books include Enjoy Successful Parenting: Practical Strategies for Parents of Children 2-12 and College Keys: Getting In, Doing Well, & Avoiding the 4 Big Mistakes. This third edition is completely revised to expand the representative dialogues concerning issues of punishment, growing responsibility, and the cooperation of other adults in the family. Special consideration is given to the single parent. Dr. McIntire also discusses how parents can cope with dozens of "games" teens play, such as "I'll bet you can't make me happy," "I may do something bad," and "You're just not perfect." The book's last step suggests ways to organize parent support groups to help with the complex challenge of raising a teenager in the '90s. As with previous editions, the combination of typical parent-teen dialogues and exercises makes this book uniquely "user-friendly."