Mom, They're Teasing Me: Helping Your Child Solve Social Problems (Hardcover)

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From Library Journal
Childhood angst tends to torment parents as well as children and can erupt into the tragedy of school shootings. These books address such problems from fairly dissimilar perspectives. Psychologists Thompson (coauthor, Raising Cain) and Cohen (Playful Parenting) collaborate with journalist/ author Grace on a sensitive and straightforward advice manual that focuses on 40 key questions regarding the social life of children. Conversational and upbeat in tone, the book is divided into three sections designed to help readers distinguish "normal" social pain from more lasting trauma. The text covers friendship skills, tattletales, racial bigotry, bullying, and personal hygiene and also suggests techniques for building positive leadership and conflict-resolution skills. The issues addressed are drawn from actual questions raised during their workshop/consulting experience. The answers reflect cumulated wisdom about what matters in the life of children from grade school through adolescence, and the book as a whole similar to but more practical than Charlotte Giannetti's and Margaret Sagarese's recent Cliques. In contrast, Garbarino (human development, Cornell Univ.; Lost Boys) and de Lara, a researcher and family therapist, focus on the pathology of mainstream high school life in America. Based on interviews and discussions with rural and suburban students from "All-American" communities and published research, the book debunks myths about school safety and discusses multiple aspects of emotional violence in a school setting, including stalking, bullying, dysfunctional adaptations to harassment, and teacher violations. The authors exhibit an insightful understanding of school cliques (e.g., "hicks," jocks, and "Goths") but tend to be alarmist when depicting daily high school life. However, the research is impressive and generates many valuable suggestions for improving the school environment. The book concludes with resources and readings on bullying and violence prevention. Though Garbarino and de Lara's book is more focused on school management issues, both books are recommended for public library parenting collections. [Thompson's book was previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/02.]-Antoinette Brinkman, M.L.S., Evansville, I.
--Antoinette Brinkman, M.L.S., Evansville, IN
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Thompson and Laurence Cohen use their experiences as parents and child psychologists to unravel the complex dynamics of social interactions among children. (The third coauthor is writer Catherine Grace.) They note that parents and teachers approach conflicts between children from their own biased perspectives--parents generally viewing their own children as innocent victims, teachers inclined to identify with the underdog or top dog, and both bringing childhood memories to their evaluations. This book is aimed at helping parents put things in perspective, learn about what children often don't reveal, and find the balance between agonizing over every slight and overlooking significant problems. The book is divided into three sections: normal social pain, children at risk, and school and neighborhood problems. Using research and case studies, Thompson and Cohen help parents deal with a range of social problems, including teasing, rejection, fights, bullying, and cruelty. Just as important, they help parents distinguish between the kind of social antagonisms that can traumatize a child and the kind that are just part of growing up. A valuable resource. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Every morning when the buses pull up in front of an elementary, middle, or high school building, an extraordinary social drama unfolds. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
social cruelty, imaginary friendship, social pain, good leadership skills, risky shift Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
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3 Reviews 5 star:  (2) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   13 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Answers so many questions a parent has, January 26, 2003 By  Julia DeVillers (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews I read this book over the weekend and have already sent out a mass email to parents I know telling them to read this book! This book succinctly and honestly answers questions that I'm always hearing on the "parent circuit." Not only about about teasing, but about all social skills, popularity, being ostracized, girls worrying they are fat-- you name it, it is probably addressed in this book. And the authors do a wonderful job of letting you know when you are worrying too much, or too little about an issue. A must read! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   18 of 20 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Background Information; No Followthrough, December 13, 2004 By  Margaret P. "mhp2027" (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews This book is strong on background material and demonstrating why children are teased. "Mom They're Teasing Me" is chocked full of examples of children (usually with poor social skills) being teased. However, this book is weak on the issue most concerning anyone who would buy it. Specifically, the author does not offer advice on what to do if your child is being teased. Most of this book comes down to the following statement: children with poor social skills are teased. The authors's solution: read the book, "Helping the Child Who Doesn't Fit In." Personally, I think the author's premise is overly simplistic, but that other book does appear to be worth trying. The bottom line is, when you've read this entire book, won't have an answer to "Mom, They're Teasing Me." Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5.0 out of 5 stars A very accurate account of what goes on in our schools, February 28, 2006 By  A. Ter Tovmasyan "www.mindmending.com" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Bullies often succeed in convincing their victims that it's the victims' fault, that the abuse did not happen, or that it was done for the victims' benefit. When nothing is done to help victimized children, they grow into adults that continue to blame themselves for everything that goes wrong around them. This book accurately describes the kind of abuses that many children are still exposed to in our schools. The book will be of excellent help to those wishing to protect their children and students from bullies. It will also enable those who care about children to withstand arguments from those who wish to turn a blind eye to the abuse that is happening outside of their backyards. The book will also be helpful to adults that have themselves been bullied. Because the basic bullying tactics have not changed and because the book describes them so well, it validates the reality of the past abuse. This validation is very helpful in resolving the emotional anguish that many adults, who have been abused as children, still carry. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 3 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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