A plainspoken, worthy, and sweeping manual on parenting teens.
A guide provides tips to parents dealing with teenagers in the age of cellphones and rampant social media.
In this fifth edition of his parenting book, experienced family counselor and author McIntire (Grandma, Can We Talk?, 2017, etc.) doles out a great deal of pointed advice on every aspect of raising teens. Some traditional subjects are addressed in clear and straightforward prose: personal economy, homework, drug use, and the much-vexed “birds and the bees”-type talks about dating and sex. Throughout the manual, McIntire is evenhanded in his treatment of the two sides of the parenting equation, consistently reminding his adult readers that their own self-care is a vital part of the process. “A parent who continually accepts responsibility and blame and feels accountable for whatever goes wrong, sacrifices his/her own self-esteem,” he writes. “When parents take care of their own needs, they help their teens as well as themselves.” But the bulk of his program centers of course on the kids. “The first priority in parenting,” he reminds readers, “should be finding things to highlight about our kids.” To this end, he lays out 12 general steps that cover an enormous amount of material: encouraging teens to contribute to the whole family; addressing poor impulse control and the formation of bad habits; coping with the complicated ramifications of punishments; and so on. The book’s opening chapters add a good deal of new, valuable guidance on questions of teen use of the internet and warn parents to take a tough line with social media, reminding them that it’s their job to know what their kids are doing online. The advice is amiable but firm, offered with many hypothetical dialogues to illustrate better conversations. McIntire closes by assuring his readers that they and their children should strive to be lifelong friends, and the useful suggestions throughout this work should help make that happen.
A plainspoken, worthy, and sweeping manual on parenting teens.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9614519-4-3
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Summit Crossroads Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 27, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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