A Survival Guide to Parenting Teens

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 Expect from Your High School Graduating Senior: Letting Go 27 What to Expect from Your College Students When They Return Home PART FOUR Just Tell Me What to Do About ...Helping My Teen Avoid the Friendship Traps 28 The Bully Pulpit: Strategies to Ward Off a Bully 29 Loyalty in Teens Can Be Harmful to Their Health: Penn State, a Case Study 30 The Agony of a Ninth-Grade Boy: What It Feels Like to Be the Youngest Boy in the School 31 Teens Who Feel Left Out: "Why Don't They Ever Call Me?" 32 The Bad Seed Friend: What to Do About the Friend You Wish Your Teen Didn't Have PART FIVE Just Tell Me What to Do About ...Drinking and Drugs 33 Getting to Know Your Teen's Drinking Personality: What Motivates Your Teen to Drink or Do Drugs? 34 Keeping Your Teens Safe If or When They Choose to Drink: A Successful Strategy 35 The Consequences of Teens Drinking in Your Home: It's Always Your Responsibility to Keep Teens Safe 36 What Happens When Teens Are Left Unsupervised: A Room-for-Improvement Parenting Story 37 A Chilling Drinking Story: Alcohol and Date Rape 38 Dope, Weed, Pot, Grass, Cannabis, Marijuana, Hemp: They All Spell Trouble 39 Teen-Proofing Your Home for Alcohol and Drug Safety: Looking at Your Home Through a New Lens 40 Party Planning with Your Teen: Commonsense Rules PART SIX Just Tell Me What to Do About ...Understanding and Dealing with My Teen's Sex Life 41 Talking to Your Teen About Sex 42 Boy Wants Sex, Girl Likes Boy: Helping Your Daughter Say No 43 Spin the Bottle and Other Sexual Situations: Strategies for Good Decision Making 44 Keeping Your Teen Dressing Like a Teen: Sexy and the Teenage Girl 45 Finding Your Teen Between the Sheets: Love in the Afternoon 46 Is Your Teen Gay/Lesbian? Discussions on Sexuality PART SEVEN Just Tell Me What to Do About ...Online and Phone Sexting 47 The Consequences of Sexting: A "Weinergate" Moment 48 A Teenage Girl's Painful Lesson: A Private Photo Goes Public 49 Sexual Harassment: Sending Sexy Photos Is Not Always a Choice 50 Skyping, Sexting, and Exotic Dancing: The Allure of a Live Audience 51 The Legal Consequences of Sexting: My Son, the Sex Offender PART EIGHT Just Tell Me What to Do About ... Cellphones and Smartphones 52 Cellphone/Smartphone Monitoring: Should I or Shouldn't I? 53 Dealing with Your Teen's Cellphone Addiction 54 Does My Teen Text Too Much? If So What Can I Do About It? 55 Driving Distracted: Don't Let Their Fingers Do the Talking When They're Driving 56 Teens Losing Sleep: Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Texting 57 Should I Buy My Teen a Smartphone? 58 A Scary Story: The Misuse of Smartphones PART NINE Just Tell Me What to Do About ... Social Networking Sites and Applications 59 Teaching Your Teen Safe Posting: The Too-Much-Information Dilemma 60 A "Friending" Intervention: Teaching Your Teen How to "Make Friends" on Social Networking Sites 61 To Give or Not to Give: My Parents, My Passwords 62 Facebook + Alcohol Posts = Problem Drinkers 63 Icky New Social Networking Sites ... Beware! 64 Facebook Posts That Could Put Your Teen in Jail: Threats That Are Taken Seriously 65 Social Networking and the Stolen Identity: Keeping Your Teens Safe from Other Teens 66 I'll Give You My Password If You Give Me Yours: Going Steady in the 21st Century 67 Cleaning Up Facebook and Twitter Posts: Preparing Your Teen for the Real World of Jobs and College 68 Online Bullying: Being Made Fun Of Can Really Hurt PART TEN Just Tell Me What to Do About ... My Parenting Style 69 Four Ways of Fighting: A Roadmap for Effective Arguing 70 Puh-leez ... No Lecture 71 Playing the Game of Curfew: "Please Can I? Everybody Else Is" 3 72 Ask Less, Get More: Stop the Interrogation 73 Too Much Love Can Be a Bad Thing: Holding Your Teen Accountable 74 Too Much, Too Soon: Understanding Age-Appropriate Privileges 75 "So What, Who Cares?" Making Consequences Mean Something 76 Teaching Your Teen About Money Management: Curbing the Teen Money Pit 77 I Just Don't Fit into This Family Anymore: Helping Your Teen to Feel Connected 78 Successful Rule Making: Sharing the Control 79 Good Cop-Bad Cop: A Parenting Dilemma 80 Finding the Bliss with Your Teen: Treasuring the Time Index About the Author