From Publishers Weekly
Giannetti and Sagarese, coauthors of The Roller Coaster Years, once again team up to help parents navigate the potentially rough waters of the early teen years. Focusing on the age group they call the middlers, Giannetti and Sagarese present straightforward information based on current research, surveys and interviews, covering such topics as substance abuse, violence, self-mutilation, depression, sex, danger on the Internet and the risks of extreme sports. The authors urge parents to be vigilant and emotionally available; they also suggest that too much time alone provides an invitation for kids this age to experiment with troublesome diversions. This book focuses on solutions rather than scare tactics, yet clearly lists the danger signals that indicate real trouble is brewing. Stressing that "the world our children are growing up in is not the one we remember," the authors encourage parents to become appropriately educated on the issues their middlers face. In the wake of recent school violence, this timely title, endorsed by the National Middle School Association, is a welcome resource for parents seeking both preventive tactics and more involvement with their middle-age kids. Agent, Denise Marcil.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Following up on their excellent earlier work, The Roller-Coaster Years: Raising Your Child Through the Magical yet Maddening School Years, Giannetti and SagareseAonline parenting experts for iVillage's Parentsoup web siteAhere focus on rescuing "middlers" (ten- to 15-year-olds) from a wide range of predicaments. Without effective coping and teaching skills, many well-intentioned parents can make serious mistakes and watch their middlers struggle in delinquent behaviors. The authors provide a wide range of resources and preventive strategies in an expertly organized, lucid format supported by the latest research. Psychologist Czudner has written an equally timely book. He discusses "budding criminals" (ages two to 17): morally illiterate juveniles who are not very "nice children" even if they do not end up in jail. They are addicted to power and try to obtain it through activities ranging from classroom disruption to murder. Early detection helps, as does the teaching of "pro-social" skills and moral values based on understanding and feeling. Nurturing feelings of empathy and guilt makes children responsive to the suffering of others. Czudner considers empathy innate and guilt a "positive human characteristic." He decries the excessive modern preoccupation with self-awareness, self-love, and self-esteem, arguing that what is needed is for children to become morally and emotionally intelligent. Excellent companion reading to Daniel P. Goleman's Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (LJ 9/1/95).AChogollah Maroufi, California State Univ., Los Angeles
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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