Parenting Teens With Love & Logic

When kids hit their teen years, parenting takes on a whole new dimension. As they struggle toward independence and autonomy, some dicey issues emerge. And the real world you want them to be ready for can make you shudder - kids today face life-and-death decisions long before they're on their own.

So what do you do? Hover over them so they won't get hurt? Drill them so they'll do the right thing? According to Jim Fay and Foster Cline, hovering and drilling won't prepare teens for the real world. Because they learn responsibility like they learn everything else: through practice.

That's were love-and-logic parenting comes in. Love means giving your teens opportunities to be responsible and empowering them to make their own decisions. Logic means allowing them to live with the natural consequences of their mistakes - and showing empathy for the pain, disappointment, and frustration they'll experience.

Whether you've used the love-and-logic approach all along, or are looking for some extra help during adolescence, Parenting Teens with Love and Logic will give you a fresh look at:

• The difference between punishment and consequences.
• How teens deal with self-esteem, control, decisions, and consequences.
• How to set up situations so your teen can learn constructive lessons about responsibility.
• How your kids grow from childhood to adolescence - and how you can grow with them.
• The internal and external changes your teen will go through.
• Parenting "pearls" that deal with everyday struggles

When you parent with love and logic, it's a win-win situation. You win because you'll learn to love in a healthy way and effectively guide your teens, without resorting to anger, threats, and power struggles that will haunt them along the path to adulthood. And your teens win because they'll learn responsibility and the logic of life by solving their own problems and acquiring the tools they'll need to cope with the real world.

As a parent, you face no greater challenge - and no greater opportunity - than to guide your children through their teen years toward productive, happy and responsible adulthood. Parenting Teens with Love and Logic will help you meet that challenge and rejoice in that opportunity.

1. Teenagers 101: Welcome to Parenting Graduate School
2. Love-and-Logic Parenting: Will It Work with Teenagers?
3. Back to the Basics, Part One: Training Teens to Act Responsibly
4. Back to the Basics, Part Two: Treating Teens as Responsible Adults
5. Fasten Your Seat Belt and Enjoy the Ride
6. Understanding Teens for the Inside Out: Internal Changes in Adolescence
7. Understanding Teens from the Outside In: External Changes in Adolescence
8. Ready, Set - Off into the Real World