Rating: 
Summary: Bad Language Unnecessary
Review: This book was recommended to me. It has a lot of good ideas about understanding and dealing with teenagers. However I was very distressed by the use of bad language throughout the book. It was used while quoting "typical" teenage responses to parents, but it still is unnecessary. I am a teacher. I don't allow that language from my teenagers at home, from my students, or from the adults I work & associate with when they are talking to me. I certainly don't need to read that kind of language in my parenting materials. The more we accept bad language in our media, the more of it we will hear. It is something we do not have to tolerate. Because of the language, I do not recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A survival guide for the adolescent mindfield
Review: This is an excellent book for parents of kids age 11 thru high school. I have a 16 year old girl and a 12 year old boy plus another boy who as yet has been spared from the turmoil and battles of adolesence. My daughter is beginning to emerge from this "adolescent phase" that the author keeps referring to. We are once again beginning to enjoy her as a person and have learned that we all survived " adolesence" intact. This book helps parents to see that their adolescents are " normal" as are their responses to the adolescent. A helpful guide to learning when to back off and to keep skirmishs from errupting into full fledged battles. I have purchased several copies for friends to help them survive the adolescent mindfield.
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Summary: I wish I had read this book sooner!
Review: This is the best book concerning parenting teenagers I have ever read. It tells you what is normal, gives practical advice and support. I read it with my husband. We both gained so much. Our home is a place of peace again. I only wish I had read it while our child was in junior high. I can not recommend it enough. The author's style is not sugar coated or overly theoretical. It provides just enough information to help you make sence of and empathize with your child's behavior. He takes a strong stance on some issues but recognizes that his is not the only opinion and I appreciate this. The humor was uplifting allowing us to laugh at ourselves and our situation.
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Summary: a compact guide for real life families
Review: This is the best how-to-parent-a-teen book I have found, after reading quite a few. It is succinct and humorous and covers the situations that really happen to parents and their teen aged kids. This book gives the best advice I've seen on how to reduce conflict, how to avoid unecessary conflict (he gives explicit advice on how and when to pick your battles), and how to handle conflict when it does occur, as sometimes it must. However, this book really convinced me that a lot of parent/teen conflict is unecessary and superfluous to really trying to raise a good kid into a good adult without trashing the relationship and spending several miserable years. It shows how we often react in a way that negates our true intentions, and gives better options for interacting. I have gone back to this book a number of times and I always come away feeling I've gotten advice that I can put into practice with real (and positive) results. I think my son and I are happier and closer as a result of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: You can't learn how to parent from a book
Review: Well, I thought I'd get a lot out of this book, all I really learned is you can't control people and you can't learn how to parent from reading a book.Most of his examples were realistic of interactions with teens, but his follow through on how to deal with these issues was weak. His approach is less is more. Don't argue with them, tell them what is expected. He covers the high points, but you really can't learn how to relate to people via a book. If you truly have problems with your teens and stepkids...go to see a counselor with them. You'd be amazed what they will say when a third party is present that they won't talk about at home.
Rating:
Summary: This book really hit home!
Review: While no two teens are exactly alike, Dr. Wolf does a great job of capturing the experience of raising a teen. The teen-parent dialogs are right on target, and his suggestions for dealing with the day to day aggravations of living with "baby adults" are very practical and sound. This book confirmed much of what I had discovered by trial and error, and it was a relief to have the validation and reassurance of an expert.
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