When my kids were babies and toddlers, I read a million books on parenting. It’s fun to learn how to teach babies to say their first word and take their first steps. The learning continues as kids get older and in fact, we probably should be reading more books when we have teens compared to babies. I have two middle-school children, one teen and one pre-teen. I can’t believe that next year I will have a high schooler. Where did time go?!
I just received a book that I’m already leaning a ton from and putting into practice. Let’s Make a Contract: Getting Your Teen Through High School and Beyond is a guidebook for parents to educate them on typical trails and issues teens go through during high school years. It addresses the top 5 Things Parents of Teens Need to Know and more.
It is a great resource for parents and teens to make sure they see eye-to-eye on important situations without confusion with ‘contracts’ that clearly lays out what you expect from both parties.
This is a sponsored post.
Top 5 Things Parents of Teens Need to Know
- Teens do NOT know how to get themselves through middle school, high school or college.
- Teens can NOT predict what’s around the corner.
- Drugs/alcohol will hurt the development of your teen’s brain.
- The use of drugs/alcohol (even marijuana) can trigger serious mental disorders
- “NO” means no NOT “maybe”
This book goes over these top 5 things parents of teens need to know and gives you tools to work with to get your teen through high school and grow up with skills.
I love the use of contracts. It is a black and white way to live by – both parties – the parents and teen – agree ahead of time on the agreement, responsibilities, and consequences of breaking that agreement. Plus, there is no more negotiating or bending the rules. If you have a midnight contract with you teen and they are 10 minutes late, having a contract makes consequences clear for everyone – there is nothing wishy washy and nobody can complain – although I’m sure it still happens.
Let’s Make a Contract: Getting Your Teen Through High School and Beyond goes over challenges that teens face in today’s world including car use, curfew, love and sex, sports, coming of age rituals, computer use, cell phone use, sibling rivalry, drugs and alcohol (and abuse of it), and mental health. I’m sure there are even more challenges that lie ahead of us as parents of teens but this book helps you as a parent prepare for anything by laying out contracts so your teen knows what is expected of them and the consequences if they don’t follow through.
Buy your own copy on the author’s website or Amazon.com for $16.95.
Let’s Make a Contract: Getting Your Teen Through High School and Beyond
