Congrats—You're Having a Teen! Strengthen Your Family and Raise a Good Person

A new way of thinking about (and celebrating!) your child during these critical years!
 
Congrats— you’ re having a teen! No, really— congratulations! You’re entering one of the most exciting, important phases of parenting. These years are your best opportunity to guide your child toward a thriving adulthood and strengthen your relationship with them for life. This guide will help you understand, encourage, support, love, and, yes, even celebrate your teen!
 
The teen years may bring challenges.  This book prepares you to meet those challenges as a family while staying firmly committed to raising a good person.  

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MSEd, FAAP, practices adolescent medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He directs Health Services at Covenant House Pennsylvania and is the founding director of The Center for Parent and Teen Communication. His books include Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings and Raising Kids to Thrive: Balancing Love with Expectations and Protection with Trust. He is the father of two children and lives in Philadelphia.

Introduction – I Hear Congratulations are in Order! You’re having a teen! Section 1: Recognizing all that is good and right Chapter 1: Recognize Adolescence as a Time of Astounding Opportunity Chapter 2: Recognizing and Nurturing the Adult Coming into Focus See the change in thinking Chapter 3: Recognizing and Reaffirming How Much You Matter Chapter 4: (Continue) Recognizing all that is Good and Right in Your Child Chapter 5: Recognize Your Own Needs and Those of the Rest of Your Family Section 2: Honoring development Chapter 6: Honoring the Many Moving Pieces of Development Chapter 7: A matter of Identity Chapter 8: The Amazing Developing Brain Chapter 9: Changing bodies and developing sexuality Chapter 10: Celebrating, Elevating, and Experiencing Emotions Chapter 11: Thinking, Dreaming, and Caring at a Whole New Level Chapter 12: External pressures Can Undermine development Chapter 13: The need to stand on their own Chapter 14: A Primer on being pro-development Section 3: Shaping your relationships Chapter 15: The root of lifelong security: your unwavering presence Chapter 16: Who’s the expert? Chapter 17: Listen more than you talk; Be a Judgement free zone Chapter 18: Talk wisely, learn more Chapter 19: Mind your body Chapter 20: Like a Duck on the water Chapter 21: Text some sense into that Child Section 4: Guiding Teens to their best selves and towards a Satisfying Adult Life Chapter 22: Guiding Our Teens to be Authentically Successful Chapter 23: Preparation is protection Chapter 24: Preparing Our children to Live in an Uncertain World Chapter 25: Build your teens' resilience Chapter 26: Balance the expression of your love with the wisdom of your monitoring Chapter 27: Steer them towards wise behaviors Chapter 28: When to jump in, when to watch from a distance Chapter 29: Corrective actions and Course Corrections Chapter 30: Helping Our Teens to Rise Above the Noise and Find Their Own Rhythm Section 5: Bridging to our positive shared future Chapter 31: A Bridge to The Future: A Generation Prepared to Do and Be Good Chapter 32: Nurture Meaning and Purpose Chapter 33: Support lifelong learning- curiosity and humility Chapter 34: Appreciate wonder and idealism - awe and curiosity Chapter 35: Advocate for a better world for all teens Section 6: Restoring to all that is good and right Chapter 36: Strengthen (or Restore) your relationship Chapter 37: Back to seeing all that is good and right in them; letting them see all that is good and right in you Chapter 38: More on listening and talking: the language and mindset of restoration Chapter 39: The strength of Seeking professional Guidance Closing Thoughts