As a parent you know that your 'child' is not just another teenager, struggling to grow up. She is your daughter. That in itself makes her the most unique and important teenager in the world. But when your sweet little girl suddenly stops talking, won't do anything you tell her to do, and starts dressing like she stepped out of a celebrity magazine, you start wondering what went wrong. Michelle Mitchell has spent the last 10 years day-in, day-out, listening and talking with teenage girls about their lives, loves, hates and hopes. In this book she reveals that its what your daughter isn't telling you rather than what she does tell you that matters the most. Featuring an engaging and fresh voice, this book is full of straightforward advice in a complicated world. Its honesty, reality and practicality is ably illustrated by the many real anecdotes from teenagers themselves about their hectic everyday lives.

Supporting a young person who is self-harming feels like a minefield. Why are they doing it? And Why can’t they just stop? Self-harm goes against every innate instinct of self-protection and survival, and remains a distressing and difficult issue for parents and carers. Uncovering the wide and varied reasons and ways young people self-harm, this book offers fresh insights into how to prevent, understand and respond to self-harm. With 20 years experience in the latest research, Michelle Mitchell combines interviews, expert advice and personal stories in one unique resource to provide parents and carers with the practical help and comfort they need. Michelle Mitchell is an educator, author and award-winning speaker with a passion for supporting families. Having left teaching in 2000, Mitchell founded Youth Excel, a charity supporting young people with life skills education, mentoring and psychological services. Bringing hands-on experience in the health and wellbeing sector, she is now the author of the bestselling self-help books ‘Self Harm: Why Teens Do It And What Parents Can Do To Help’ and ‘Everyday Resilience: Helping Kids Handle Friendship Drama, Academic Pressure and the Self-Doubt of Growing Up’. She lives in Brisbane, Australia with her husband and two teenagers.

This book empowers parents of autistic young people aged 11 to 20 to help them promote resilience in their child. Full of suggestions and simple activities, this easy-to-use resource will help guide parents on how to build the foundations of resilience and independence for situations such as negotiating sexuality and relationships, entering employment or living away from home. It includes information about the main developmental stages for preteens and teens on the autism spectrum, and will take parents through life events and milestones at different ages and identify where difficulties and barriers to resilience may arise and how to address them.

Parents, if you really want to know how those years of talking, begging, and butt whippings you gave your child have worked now that they are teens, then read this book. Some of you may want to sit down as you turn the pages and read in amazement at some of the misadventures and problems teens create for themselves in school. Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, but most of all enlightening, you will not be able to put this book down as you learn about your Teen. You will truly think that, That cant be my teen doing those things. Yes, they are parents, yes they are. Enjoy and take from this book the fact that you will be a better parent knowing how Teens minds work in their own social setting. Thats what schools are, your Teens social setting away from home. So how did those parenting skills work out for you? Read and find out.

Although the title of this book indicates "One parent's story, struggle" it's actually about the battle between all parents and teens; or simply adults and teens in general. I say battle, but it has actually risen to the potential for what I call generational warfare. Basically, teenagers have little respect for adults; especially parents. The protocol is simple; and yes most adults do recall progressing strategically in the same way during their own youth. Even before we're born; we make demands. Then after we've grown a few years; we make many more demands. By the age of ten to thirteen, we more than expect those demands to unquestionably be met. Finally by the last 3 to 5 years of youth while living at home with our parents; we've assessed who our biggest enemy is and how we would like to take down who we now see as both an enemy, and a "dictator". Simply put: after you've bitten the hand that feeds you for so long; that hand begins to appear useless. And once that represents uselessness; the person behind that outreaching hand, also serves no purpose to you. So the stage is set. Teenagers won't look back with any sense of appreciation; and parents, who also continued to grow; will look back and wonder: was it all worth it. Many are optimistic, while others are in denial. But most can only feel one thing "What was I thinking."

When a teenager becomes pregnant, what are her options? If she decides to keep the baby, what kind of life will the baby have? What will the mother's life be like? And what about teenage fathers? This book talks about many of these issues and tells the story of some teen parent families. The people in this book are very aware of the difficulties involved in being a teen-parent family. They know how hard it can be. But they can also tell you the ways their situation have made them stronger, what they have learned, and what you can learn from them.

"Parents and young adults alike should benefit from the advice in Apter's insightful book."—Washington Post What do young people at the threshold of adulthood really need and want? Why do so many responsible and motivated teenagers become young adults who are still dependent, financially and emotionally, on their parents? Why are many young people today so quick to leave childhood behind, but so slow to become adults? In this wise and compassionate book, Terri Apter debunks outdated and misguided ideas about maturity: Acting in the name of love, many parents withdraw emotional or practical support, thinking it best for a son or daughter to solve his or her own problems—even to suffer alone the consequences of mistakes. Apter shows us that young adults actually need a parent's guidance and support, while also requiring respect and independence. Based on carefully observed case studies and current research, this book describes how we can support young people through a crucial stage in their development.

Being a new parent can be hard and anyone who has been through it will tell you there's no instruction manual on doing it the right way. My daughter was born when I was only 16 and I had to figure things out the hard way. This book chronicles some of the trials and tribulations I dealt with as a first time parent and throughout I give advice on how to avoid certain pitfalls in parenting and work through some almost inevitable challenges. Some things I say you may or may not agree with; either way you may be right, after all no two situations are the same. But I know what it feels like to be a new parent, especially an unprepared teenage parent, trying your best to raise a child and wondering "What in the world have I gotten myself into!?" If you're an African American, Caucasian or other, whether you're a teenage parent or just a parent of an infant or young child and are looking for a little help, well I'll try to give you some of the best advice I can and hopefully it will help you in raising your child.