No one resource has the secret to perfect parenting. As counselors and parents ourselves, we believe that sharing resources that might help in some way is a pursuit worth making. Below are titles we feel will shed light in some new way. However, we pass these references along to you with one caveat; no one theory is correct. In fact, expect to not necessarily agree with everything you read or hear. The goal to good parenting is to pull from various resources to find a combination towards creating a personal parenting style that feels right. We recommend checking books out for free through your local library. View our full list or recommended resources on our website.
Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?, by Anthony E. Wolf. With humor and straight-talk language, addresses modern parenting issues for both teen sons and daughters. Quick Read.
Queen Bee Moms & Kingpin Dads: Dealing with the Parents, Teachers, Coaches and Counselors Who Can Make – or Break – Your Child’s Future, by Rosalind Wiseman. The advice in this book is helpful in decoding the different people your student has and will continue to encounter in sticky and very realistic situations. The author gives interesting perspectives and potential solutions that will demystify the complex world of your child and also might just stop and make you rethink.
Five Love Languages of Teens, by Gary D. Chapman. As a fan of The Five Love Languages written for adults, I found this version just has helpful. Unlocking the secret to how and why a teens express themselves the way they do can be a relief. This book also has ideas for how to teach your teen appropriate responsibility and how to handle strong feelings like anger.
The Mother-Daughter Project: How Mothers and Daughters Can Band Together, Beat the Odds, and Thrive Through Adolescence, by SuEllen Hamkins and Renee Schultz. This is an intriguing look at the emotional needs of daughters from ages seven to seventeen and the evolving relationship with their mothers. The premise of this book is that daughters do not need to separate in order to gain their own identity and that not liking your mother isn’t a mandatory step in adolescence. This book also helps you reflect on your own experience as a daughter.
The Good Teen: Rescuing Adolescence from the Myths of the Storm and Stress Years (Groundbreaking Research Reveals Everything You Think You Know About Teens Is Wrong), by Richard M. Lerner. The author of this book uses his research to support that "Teens are not problems to be fixed, but resources to be developed." This book is useful in that it offers the reader new vocabulary around typical teen behavior. In the end, he hopes to change the outlook of parenting from an uphill battle to something you look forward to.
The Empty Nest: 31 Parents Tell the Truth About Relationships, Love, and Freedom After the Kids Fly the Coop, by Karen Stabiner. Each chapter of this book is written by either a mother or father telling his or her personal experience with their child leaving home. Parents of juniors and seniors approaching this upcoming transition will appreciate hearing they are not alone in their mixed feelings. This book is nice because each chapter stands alone, only a couple of minutes reading time each.