Time-tested, trusted advice guiding kids to gain confidence, and move toward independence.

Thomas Phelan, Ph. D.

From rule-breaking and risk-taking to defensive communication, and disrespect, parenting a teenager can feel like modern warfare.  1-2-3 Magic Teen will help establish a calmer, more respectful home and family life, and guide the teenager into healthy, functional adulthood.

This valuable resource offers time-tested advice, in a straightforward encouraging style, taking the parent through the ups and downs of teen life.  It identifies which issues are worth fighting over, and those that are normal for an adolescent.

Readers will:

• Learn the language to communicate with open and engaging language, and listen to the teenager in the right way
• Establish expectations by learning to set limits, while encouraging independent decision making, and helping the child develop emotional intelligence
• Stay in touch by allowing the teen to open up in more meaningful, and inclusive, ways, through four simple connection-building strategies
• Take time to maintain the adult’s emotional well-being, so as not to allow anxieties and stresses to influence the teen

The book also includes tools and advice tailored for the challenges of a teen lifestyle, including:

• Forgetting to do chores
• Absence in family outings
• Drop in grades
• Missed curfews
• Parties and drinking
• Work responsibilities

Paperback; 192 pages.