Field Guide to the American Teenager: A Parent's Companion

Media:	Paperback
Author:	Joseph Di Prisco, Michael Riera, Ph.D. Michael Riera, Ph.D. Joseph Di Prisco
Publisher:	Perseus Publishing
Release date:	07 August, 2001
List price:	~~$16.95~~
Our price:	$11.53 that is 32% off!

Field Guide to the American Teenager: A Parent's Companion

Average rating: Stars

Useful information for parents and educators

I like the style in which this book is written. Each chapter is self contained, i.e., you don't have to read earlier chapters for any other chapter to be useful. Thus, the book need not be read cover to cover if certain topics are not of interest to you. Each chapter deals with a specific topic such as drinking and driving, motivation, taking responsibility, date rape, eating disorders, etc. Each chapter starts of with a realistic scenario in which a problem dealt with by the chapter is set forth. Then, the authors discuss the general subject matter of the chapter in analytical terms. Finally, the discussion returns to the scenario and how the problems can best be dealt with and resolved.

The scenarios include dialogues between a teen and friends, teachers, parents or others who would play a role in the situation set forth. The authors later analyze how well the subjects of the dialogues handled the situations in the scenario. The book is very readible and the advice is genarally good, albeit not always in the greatest depth. As a parent and a school board of education member, I find the book useful and recommend it.

Field Guide to the American Teenager: A Parent's Companion - Joseph Di Prisco, Michael Riera, Ph.D. Michael Riera, Ph.D. Joseph Di Prisco

A treasure for all of us

Many books of this genre fall into the trap of either being too clinical or too cynical. Thankfully, Drs. DiPrisco and Riera provide us with a wonderfully accessible and beautifully crafted inquiry into the American teenager. Having been a teenager once, (if I still trust my memory) I find their insight trenchant. While I cannot claim complete objectivity--I defy anyone who has read either DiPrisco's poetry or Riera's earlier books on teens to remain impartial--I am thankful for their effort and think it a national prize.

Joseph Di Prisco, Michael Riera, Ph.D. Michael Riera, Ph.D. Joseph Di Prisco - Field Guide to the American Teenager: A Parent's Companion

In Appreciation of FIELD GUIDE TO THE AMERICAN TEENAGER

As the subtitle indicates, FIELD GUIDE TO THE AMERICAN TEENAGER is all about Appreciating the Teenager You Live With. That's a big concept: Appreciating the kid (not always an easy thing to do when you feel like you're at your wits end). Not dictating behavior or choosing career paths or keeping your kid from harm's way -- as if any of that were even possible by the time s/he's a teenager.

Riera and DiPrisco make it clear that there is no way to 'follow-the-dots' and come up with pat answers to the difficult subjects they tackle. Instead, this beautifully written book presents teens in their natural habitats. Real situations are depicted -- ones that anyone can identify with -- but rather than attempting to proscribe behavior, Riera and DiPrisco discuss each topic and scenario in an insightful section called Notes Home that will surely help parents bring a new slant to their thinking. It definitely opened my mind to new approaches.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with a teen -- or a soon-to-be teen. You won't be disappointed.

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