Weinhaus and Friedman have good suggestions on how to communicate with your child if he/she is generally receptive to you. But I don't like how they divide conflicts into "kid-life problems" and "parent-life problems." Everything your chil does affects you and the family. They suggest letting go of "minor" things, like how your child dresses, by stating "I don't care for your choice of clothing, but your company is more important to me." I'm sorry, but if my daughter desses like a hooker I don't want her going to school like that nor do I want her to be with me in public. Letting go won't solve the problem. If the problem is getting up and out the door on time for school it is suggested that you announce it is no longer your responsibility to drive him/her to school when he misses the bus and let him/her deal with the consequences of missing school and making up lost work. Again, I don't see this as a "kid-life problem". My daughter would love for me not to take her to school and to leave her at home unattended for the day. If she was that worried about dealing with the consequences of a missed day, she wouldn't have missed the bus again to begin with. This book misses the mark for us and many other parents with difficult teens.

The beauty of this book is that it has dramatic results. It provides information that a parent can use immediately and effectively. I am an educator and have recommended this book to many parents of my students. They always call and thank me and are pleased to say that not only can they feel that their parenting skills have increased, but their children have noticed a positive difference. The book not only provides strategies but it provides guidelines for the language to be used which is so crucial with teenagers. I highly recommend this book. It's easy to read, there's humor and it will make a difference in your life.

This book gives parents "tools" to handle certain situations. It is a no-nonsense book that helps parents to turn over power to their teen so that the teen can be accountable for their decisions. It helps parents "let go" of power struggles and let natural consequences prevail. Truly a life changing attitude for those of us who were raised to "control" our teenagers. This is the best parenting book I have read and have passed along copies to many of my friends and family.