A field guide for parents about the secret lives of 21st century teenagers - from relationships to self-harm, from drugs to sexting - and how you can help them and yourself through these turbulent years. Written from a teenager's perspective, this is a unique field guide for parents about the secret lives of 21st century adolescents - from mental health to self-harm, from drugs to sexting - and how you can help them and yourself through these turbulent years without losing their trust. This book is a look at modern life through the eyes of a teenager, by someone who recently graduated from that club. Along the way, Brooks takes readers on a tour of the websites that most parenting manuals would rather pretend don't exist. Yet this is the stuff your kids are all over, on a daily basis. There is porn, there are hallucinogens, there is cyberbullying and suicidal ideation. Brooks' point is that to remain completely unaware of their existence can mean that as a parent, you end up getting blindsided. And being blindsided means you won't know what to say and how to say it when things go wrong. "When I turned into a teenager, I watched my parents panic with questions they were unprepared for: is the computer killing his brain? is he watching porn? are those cuts on his arms? what the hell do we do now? The child-rearing tactics they'd read about in parenting manuals or learned from their own parents were useless. Anyway, how do you punish someone who's already so miserable? This is a field guide for confused parents who are currently custodians of any teenager who's feeling lost, alone, depressed or horny. I'm not an expert, a psychologist, or even a particularly good person, but I do understand the unique kinds of troubles that come with trying to grow up in the current climate, and I wanted to share what would have helped me, my friends, and everyone else I spoke to while writing this book. It might be hard to read what I write about self-harming, body piercings, gender confusion, drugs and social media angst. It might involve unpleasant surprises and be occasionally disgusting, but it could also help you to understand and support your kids.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.