Very interesting read with lots of useful tips. Would highly recommend for any parent of teens. Will refer to time and time again.

Very interesting to read. There’s always lots of parenting books for pregnancy through to school age. But that’s when the help stops. No one broaches the teenage years. Your just expected to be experts and know how to tackle these years. So it was refreshingly good too see this book. Even more so after reading it. Lots of great interesting information. Lots to stop and think about. And go away and put into action

Disclosure. This post is a review of an ebook I received for free. All opinions are my own.

This is the third book in The Language of Play series. The first is targeted at parents of children age 0-7 and the second for those with children age 8-12.

I found this was a book to dip into a bit at a time, so it took me longer to read than I had originally expected. Like the previous title it is full of ideas of what to do with your teenage children in 15 minutes. This time it is primarily focussing on how to stay connected with your teenager, something I find vital now that so often my eldest is on headphones behind a closed door.

The book has also made me think back to my own teenage years, but apart from the similarity of not getting up until lunchtime on non-school days, things are very different now, particularly as regards phones and computers.

There are plenty of ideas and case studies. And as well as what you may encounter every day, it also encompasses other topics topics such as 24/7 social media, cyber-bullying, sexuality, porn, mental illness, self harm, eating disorders, alcohol, drugs, delinquency and stealing.

A useful resource book with plenty of advice.

This is a fascinating and helpful book for parents who are having difficulties with their teenage children, or who would like to improve the relationship they have with them. It explains the stages of childhood as well as how children’s brains develop. There is a clear rationale as to why teenagers may change in behaviour and why the decisions they make may seem strange to adults.
Case study examples are given as to how the author has helped families experiencing problems, and activities are suggested to help
families repair and strengthen their bonds. There is no finger pointing or blame apportioned to the parent or child, but clear explanations are given that may help parents understand why things have changed or are difficult.
I found this to be incredibly interesting and as well as giving hints to improve the relationship I have with my children, it made me feel that I should recognise I'm doing the best I can.

This is such an important book! Psychotherapist, Joanna Fortune, offers both insight and practical strategies to help us emotionally connect with our teens.

In this book we are given 15 minute exercises, some of which get us to reflect on our own experience of being parented, which gives excellent insight into our own parenting.

I was intrigued early on by the promise of activities to ‘play’ with teens, assuming teens to recoil at the very notion. However the activities suggested all seemed highly appealing and engaging to all ages.

I found the description of normal development broken down by stage of adolescence really helpful, as were chapters dedicated to specific topics such as friendships, sex and darker, more extreme behaviours.

This book is super readable, informative and practical - all in all, an excellent resource to navigate parents through the potentially turbulent teenage years.

My thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

This is an interesting book great for provoking thoughts. Any day and age where parenting can be done so differently, this is an interesting read

Having a mature 12-year-old pre-teen and a 14-year-old in the house, I was instantly drawn to this title. The challenges we face as parents are many, none more so than during the recent global pandemic, which has highlighted to me that my parenting skills need help! The absence of school, friends and other social interactions put a huge strain on us all but especially our teenagers. This book helped me to understand two main issues – 1. My own teenage years, plus my relationship with my parents have had a huge impact (and possibly dangerous) on my own parenting methods. 2. There are ways (some are even fun!) to get through this and for you all to survive!
The book covered a wide range of different aspects such as development stages, behavioural issues, how to respond to your teenager’s high emotions calmly as well as numerous case studies which I found to be remarkably interesting.
I would recommend this title to anyone with pre-teen/teenage children.