3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A helpful and empowering book, September 22, 2004
This review is from: Coach Your Teen to Success: 7 Simple Steps to Transform Relationships and Enrich Lives (Paperback)
What parent wouldn't like to make the sometime rocky teen years into a time where you can really empower your teen to become an effective adult? I consider this book a must-read for anyone who wants to parent their teen with heart, head and soul. This book is jam-packed with exercises, tips and thought-provoking questions that will help parents and anyone who has a special teen in their life. I found the advice to be on-target and insightful, and the information is well-organized and clearly presented. I especially liked the "workbook" quality of Coach Your Teen to Success; throughout the book there are many exercises (conveniently designed with spaces for answers) to help you fully synthesize the wisdom of this book (e.g. how to transform questions into "positive whys" and a Parenting Styles Self-Assessment). The book is written in an inspiring and clear style and offers concrete suggestions for changing the relationships between teens and parents. The guidelines on how to be a conscious listener and how to change criticisms into affirming words were two areas that I could begin working on right away. I'm looking forward to developing deeper and better relationships with the teens in my life, thanks to this book.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Attention all Moms and Dads!, September 13, 2004
This review is from: Coach Your Teen to Success: 7 Simple Steps to Transform Relationships and Enrich Lives (Paperback)
Kids don't come with instructions, but "Coach Your Teen to Success" is the next best thing! I wish I had had this practical book when my daughters were preteens. My life would've been so much easlier if I had known how to talk to teens in order for them to want to listen AND how to listen in order for them to talk. I particularly benefited from the Insightful Questioning step/section. Now my conversations with my young adults are delightful and meaningful. I highly recommend this book - easy to read and very effective. I liked it so well, I read it TWICE!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful, Refreshing, Practical and Elegant, March 12, 2005
This review is from: Coach Your Teen to Success: 7 Simple Steps to Transform Relationships and Enrich Lives (Paperback)
To any parent who wonders how to communicate with their teens, and what choices their teens are going to make when the parent is not there, a sigh of relief is in store. "I would give anything in the world to be able to talk with my teen, or better yet, have my teen talk with me," is a lament often heard from parents of teens.
One of the many gifts Barbara McRae offers in Coach Your Teen to Success is her ability to provide practical, step by step information for both parents and teens, not only to (re)connect, but to rediscover the heart to heart bond and energy so crucial in the parent teen relationship. A must read for all parents.
Barbara McRae's approach is as refreshing as it is practical, and goes straight to the heart of what matters. The author presents simple straightforward steps, with exercises included to strengthen both parent and teen confidence and clarity.
In Part 1: Setting the Coaching Foundation, the author offers six
compelling chapters, including (1)What Parents Want; and (2) What Teenagers Want From Their Parents. Particularly powerful is the exercise Ms. McRae presents: write down the commonalities you discover in what both you and your teen want. The consideration of what each of us want from one another is a powerful wakeup call--how many of us have forgotten how difficult those teen years were, and what we longed for from our parents? And, as parents, we now have the tools to clarify our own wants for our children, presented by the author.
In Part 2, Clearing the Path, the four chapters include (9) Top 10 Qualities of Successful Parent-Teen Relationships and (10)Three Parenting Pitfalls. Grounded in the manageable, supportive and nurturing approach, so typical of this author, parents are empowered and strengthened. We all need these kinds of tools and encouragement.
The Seven Simple Steps presented in Part 3 are also elegant and reality based, as in the preceding chapters. Once again, the author demonstrates and offers the reader the essence, the foundation, of her approach to the parent teen relationship: love, devotion, dignity and respect, partnered with depth and practicality. Ms. McRae offers us the critical tools to demonstrate and manifest superb communication and connection, not only with our teens, but with each other. Among the glories of this book are its down to earth clarity and do-ability.
As parents, we perceive this world to be challenging and complex, for ourselves, and especially for our teens. Coach Your Teen To Success provides the map we need to navigate the precarious terrain, and is enormously encouraging and functional. Use the tools, and get results!
Barbara McRae has lovingly provided us with a solid brick by brick foundation each one of us needs to connect with the children we love, to best serve our children, and in turn, serve our highest selves, the best part of who we are.
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