How to Talk to Teens About Really Important Things is the essential guide for those who has found themselves ill prepared-and ill at ease-when discussing some of life's most important issues with teens. In this much needed book, award-winning authors Charles Schaefer and Theresa Foy DiGeronimo offer parents a commonsense approach for knowing just what to say to teens and how and when to say it. For easy reference, How to Talk to Teens About Really Important Things is organized alphabetically by topic and offers clear, authoritative guidelines on discussing a variety of vital issues such as depression, suicide, dieting, gangs, drugs, and date rape.

320 pps

Schaefer and DiGeronimo, professors of psychology and English, respectively, have coauthored eight popular books on parenting. In this sequel to their excellent How To Talk to Your Kids About Really Important Things (Jossey-Bass, 1994), they assert that parents need to learn how to bridge the potentially harmful parent-teen communication gap. "Askable" parents do not dodge embarrassing questions or punish, tease, or judge kids for asking about emotionally charged issues like homosexuality, death, and pornography. The "ground rules" include being informed, trustworthy, brief, clear, and respectful. Each chapter, while remaining sensitive to differing lifestyles and belief systems, offers clear guidelines and sample dialogs for talking about teenagers' unique needs. Issues, presented in alphabetical order, cover a wide range of topics, including divorce, date rape, HIV/AIDS, tattoos and body piercing, cults, and gangs. Further resources and relevant reading are provided. Recommended for all libraries.

-AChogollah Maroufi, California State Univ., Los Angeles Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.