Amazon.com Review
While the
Field Guide to the American Teenager offers titular hope of guidance for the parents of teens, a more accurate title would be "Field Observations of the American Teenager." Authors and educators Michael Riera and Joseph DiPrisco, both Ph.D.s, present insights into many issues that are commonly confronted by teens today: drug use, weapons at school, homosexuality, romance, eating disorders, and race relations, to name a few. But rather than confronting the issues with a laundry list of do's and don'ts, the authors try to help readers understand what teens are thinking and why they act as they do. A discussion of date rape, for instance, doesn't offer any specifics on how to help teens avoid this situation; instead, it looks at why teens choose to engage in the kind of risk-taking behavior that might lead to date rape. "What is frightening about adolescence," they write, "is how close to the margins of irreparable damage and loss teenagers routinely place themselves, how close they come to the shore of no return." These types of observations aren't necessarily reassuring to parents who may be looking for a pat formula to help them navigate the teen years. Many chapters, with titles like "Drinking and Driving" or "Race and Adolescence," have little to do with the named topics. Instead, the authors use such topics as jumping-off points for discussions of underlying issues like trust, communication, self-esteem, integrity, friendship, ambiguity, peer pressure, and responsibility.
Any parent who has raised a teen knows that there is no one formula for success. Field Guide will help parents better understand their teens--but it leaves the hard work of finding parenting strategies that fit a particular teen firmly in the hands of the parent. --Virginia Smyth
From Publishers Weekly
Seasoned educators Riera and Di Prisco cover many of the heavy-hitting topics that teens face, including drinking and driving, sexual issues, eating disorders, decision-making, violence and drugs. In fact, as the authors recognize, these issues "come with the territory of adolescence." It's not easy being a teenAor the parent of a teen. Riera and Di Prisco use an unusual format to present each issue, employing extended anecdotes and simulated conversations to illustrate each teen dilemma. This method is unique, but it may frustrate parents searching for easy answers; the truth is there are no pat answers when it comes to teens, for "every teenager is happy and moody and tense and confused in different ways." Still readers will find intelligent observations about teens; the authors have a solid grasp on what makes adolescents tick. The issue-oriented organization of the text is helpful, though each chapter's attention to the details of a particular teen's problem may leave some readers wishing that more time was spent on a general analysis of the problems all teens confront. The appendixes, which break down teen behavior into developmental characteristics, are particularly useful. The authors' over-riding themesAthat parents should influence, not control their teen's life; that teens need to be trusted, guided, and lovedAare invaluable for parents facing this challenging time in their child's life. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
