And Then I Had Teenagers: Encouragement for Parents of Teens and Preteens [Paperback]

Susan Alexander Yates (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

Susan Yates, best-selling author of And Then I Had Kids and How to Like the Ones You Love, now offers encouragement and guidance to parents of teens and preteens. Drawing from her experiences raising five teenagers, she offers parents a unique blend of stories, compassion, and advice. Yates empathizes with parents whose children struggle with communication, peer pressure, and faith--every parent of a teen!--while also considering teenagers' perspectives and needs. Readers who enjoyed And Then I Had Kids will be eager for this sequel as they prepare for the teen years. With a similar style, it demonstrates how Christian values work within the family and the home. Discussion questions for each chapter make it a perfect resource for small groups, Sunday school, or neighborhood outreach. By encouraging readers to "articulate the challenges and then choose to focus on the blessings," And Then I Had Teenagers restores hope during one of the craziest seasons of life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Yates, author of And Then I Had Kids, tackles the trials of parenting adolescents in this down-to-earth Christian manual. She encourages parents to not just endure, but to enjoy, their children's teen years. She identifies some common challenges teens who suddenly become uncommunicative, who reject the faith of their childhood or who are hypercritical of themselves and others. She also discusses "hot topics" such as dating, driving, grades, drugs, TV and movies. What places this parenting guide a cut above is its honesty; Yates is quite frank about the joys and sorrows of raising her own five kids (who were so closely spaced that there was one year when they were all teenagers! Yikes!). Christian parents will appreciate Yates's warm and wise counsel.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

"Every parent will benefit from this heartwarming, practical, and insightful book. Your spirit is bound to be buoyed by its message, and your teens will thank you." --Dr. Les Parrott, author of Helping Your Struggling Teenager "I want my daughter to make wise choices, but I'm so afraid she won't." "I feel like I'm losing control. My son always has to have the last word." "My daughter and I have always been so close, but now she seems to be pulling away." "I have a good relationship with my teens but everyone says, 'just wait until . . . .' Do the teen years have to be awful?" Fear, frustration, guilt, loneliness, confusion, and those what ifs . . . "What if I've already messed up my kid?" "What if she turns out like me?" "What if he rejects God?" "What if he gets into drugs?" "What if she doesn't get into the right college?" If you have questions like these, Susan Alexander Yates, best-selling author of And Then I Had Kids, has guidance and encouragement for you. Drawing from her experience raising five teenagers, Yates walks you through everything from preparing for the teen years to letting your teens go. Her insight will help you to create open communication, set limits, understand what's normal (and what's not!), take advantage of peer pressure, build your teens' faith, and much more. "An authentic, practical book for parents of teens who want to raise them right." --Dennis Rainey, executive director of FamilyLife "For years we have looked to Susan Yates for practical wisdom, counsel, and advice as we raise our children. This book is a welcome mentoring manual full of biblical insight." --Bob and Mary Ann Lepine, co-hosts, FamilyLife Today

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801063663
• ISBN-13: 978-0801063664
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,143,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RUN, DON'T WALK AND GET THIS BOOK!!!, August 20, 2001

By 

Dean R Crowe (Marietta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: And Then I Had Teenagers: Encouragement for Parents of Teens and Preteens (Paperback)

If you have preteens or teenagers, if you have a friend who has preteens or teenagers, RUN DON'T WALK and get this book! And Then I Had Teenagers is filled with extremely practical, honest, insightful, challenging, humorous, and thank goodness, empowering thoughts and ideas. Mrs. Yates writes from her personal experience of raising five teenagers and shares stories of several of her friends. Mrs. Yates is vulnerable enough to share her successes, her failures and her compromises which include every year having Easter dinner at the dining room table complete with china IN THE FRONT YARD!

Written from a Biblical perspective, Mrs. Yates tells us, even though parenting teenagers is challenging, it is also a wonderful time of life for us and our kids. Throughout the book she reminds us to be the parent and that our job is to teach our teenagers life skills, not be their best friend. She shows us that as parents, we are investing in our child for long term gains not short term results. Mrs. Yates encourages us to distinguish between crucial issues (sorry, every issue cannot be a crucial one!) and swing issues. She bolsters our confidence so that we can gradually let go of our teenager without letting go of our mind! Mrs. Yates addresses tough and contemporary issues like the Internet, co-ed slumber parties, alcohol, drugs, eating disorders, movies, your teenager's faith and attending church. She gives us her opinion and tells us what did and didn't work in her family. Also, she shares what she has seen work in other families. Then she encourages us to pray and make a decision that is best for our family and individual teenager. I appreciate that Mrs. Yates continuously reminds us that every teenager is different and what worked for one teenager may not work for your other teenager. We need to make decisions based on the individual teenager.

I have already put some of the book's practical suggestions into action. When my ninth-grade son comes home from football practice, he starts the washing machine. Every night he washes, dries and puts his practice uniform back in his gym bag. I told him that his future wife would thank me for teaching him to do laundry. His response? He rolled his eyes but started the washer! THANK YOU, MRS. YATES!

As a speaker to women and couples, I want this book on my book table. I will tell my friends and my audiences, if you can only have one book about raising teenagers, pick this book. But be forewarned, after reading Mrs. Yates' book, you never know where your dining room table will end up!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For Parents of Teens, April 10, 2003

By 

Christian Observer (Manassas, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: And Then I Had Teenagers: Encouragement for Parents of Teens and Preteens (Paperback)

Written from experience, this book speaks to parents of pre-teen and teens. In Chapter 1 the author looks at ten common challenges which parents of teens face. The remaining chapters deal with these problems one at a time. It is an encouraging book because parents see that other caring, Christian parents have problems with their children as they move into the adolescent years. Some of the emotions parents feel are fear, frustration, guilt, loneliness, confusion and the tormenting question of "What If."
As the reader goes from chapter to chapter there is a comforting support - the example of others who have shared the impossible injury and found it possible to work through the experience. The presence and comfort of a close relationship with God gives the assurance each of us needs. Read and share it with friends, and enjoy your teenagers.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging Book for Christian Parents, February 13, 2002

By 

Christian Observer (Manassas, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: And Then I Had Teenagers: Encouragement for Parents of Teens and Preteens (Paperback)

Written out of experience, this book speaks to parents of pre-teens and teens. In Chapter 1 the author looks at ten common challenges which parents of teens face. The remaining chapters deal with these problems one at a time. It is an encouraging book because parents see that other caring, Christian parents have problems with their children as they move into the adolescent years. Some of the emotions parents feel are fear, frustration, guilt, loneliness, confusion and the tormenting question of "What if?"
As the reader goes from chapter to chapter there is a comforting support - the example of others who have shared the impossible injury and found it possible to work through the experience. The presence and comfort of a close relationship with God gives the assurance each of us needs. Read And Then I Had Teenagers, share it with friends, and enjoy your teenagers.