"Your Defiant Teen"... a book review & giveaway

The American Heritage Dictionary defines defiance as: bold resistance to an opposing force or authority. Are you the opposing force/authority that your child is resisting? Do you know how best to overcome your child's defiance? Are you tired of always focusing on the negative? Is your relationship with your teen strained to say the least? If you answered yes to any of these, there is help. Russell A. Barkley, PhD and Aruthur L. Robin, PhD have teamed up to co-author a book entitled Your Defiant Teen ~ 10 Steps to Resolve conflict and Rebuild Your Relationship that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Your Defiant Teen is divided into two parts. Part 1, You and Your Defiant Teen, defines exactly what defiance is and helps you get to the root of the defiance. You will also learn how defiance develops. Could your parenting style be a contributing factor? You will find out in part 1. Among other things, you will learn the importance of becoming a positive influence in your teens life. This influence will enable you to teach your teen skills that will last a lifetime. You will also learn the importance of making sure your teen follows the non-negotiable rules as well as learn when to be a little more lenient.

Part 2 is the meat of the book. You will learn the "Ten steps to a better relationship with your teen." This part stresses the importance of positive interactions with your teen. In addition, you will learn how your teen can earn privileges through contracts and point systems, how to address school and homework issues and eight other steps that will help you "resolve conflict and rebuild your relationship." This section of the book is also speckled with "warnings" that will help you avoid common pitfalls.

The authors have included numerous questionnaires, worksheets, checklists and sample contracts throughout the book which I feel would be extremely useful to a parents facing these issues.

The first two sentences of the introduction of this book ring true: Slam. That's the sound of teenage defiance. This book can help turn those slams into doors being left wide open.


**This review begins a new chapter here at the ADHD & LD Resource Blog. From time to time I will be giving away (yes, for free) ADHD & LD related products. The very first product I am giving away is this very book, courtesy of it's publisher, Guilford Press. So, if you would like to be entered into the drawing for Your Defiant Teen, please leave me a comment on this post. The deadline to enter is 11:00 p.m., April 30, 2008. I will draw a name at random on May 1, 2008. I will then contact the winner via email for shipping instructions (which I will be paying for or it wouldn't really be free, right?) If you are not a registered member of Blogger, please be sure and leave your email address in the comment. Best of luck and I'm looking forward to reading your comments.

** This post is also a part of the blog carnival at Bloggy Giveaway.