When a child becomes a teenager, parents often discover a whole new set of challenges. Setting limits, gaining control, and communicating with one another can become a daily struggle, and family life can go from peaceful to tumultuous in a short period of time.
There are many resources available for parents of teenagers. These are a few of the Web sites and books that can guide parents through the challenges of raising a teenager.
Web sites for Parents of Teens
USA.gov’s “Parents of Teens” site: This site is the U.S. government’s “official web portal” and provides a wide variety of links to different government resources. The site covers everything from teen drug prevention to bike and car safety to teen sexuality to college information.
KidsHealth.org’s “A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the Teen Years”: This non-profit site is run by The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media. This article features information about puberty, smoking, drugs and alcohol and more.
Decoder: This blog is run by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and features no-nonsense advice to parents about teen drug use, discipline and communication.
Radicalparenting.com: This site was founded by a young entrepreneur, Vanessa Van Petten, who wrote a book at age 16 titled You're Grounded: How to Stop Fighting and Make the Teenage Years Easier (iUniverse Inc., 2007). The site features parenting advice written from a teen perspective.
Books for Parents of Teens
Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall: A Parent's Guide to the New Teenager by Anthony E. Wolf: Written by a clinical psychologist, this book covers everything from school to sex to suicide. Wolf offers real-world solutions to the communication gap that often exists between parents and teenagers. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002, ISBN: 0374528535)
Parenting Teens With Love And Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay: When parents of teenagers suddenly realize their sweet child has become a different person, this book is here to help. The authors explain how parents can deal with their child’s new attitude and provide structure without driving their teen away. (NavPress Publishing, 2006, ISBN: 1576839303)
Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World by Rosalind Wiseman: This book will help parents understand the complicated world of teenage girls. (Three Rivers Press, 2009, ISBN: 0307454444)
Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex and Brett Harris: While this book is technically written for teens by teens, parents will also learn a great deal from this book. Written by teenage twins, the book is designed to inspire teenagers to rise above the “slacker” mentality in American society and to become productive members of society. (Multnomah Books, 2008, ISBN: 1601421125)
There is help for parents of teenagers if they know where to look. Hopefully, this guide provided some valuable resources to help parents and teens survive the challenges of the adolescent years.
Kari Lomanno - Kari Lomanno is a high school English teacher and mother of two children ages 9 and 7. She lives in Chesapeake, Virginia with her husband ...
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