Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen

Loved this book. My kids aren't quite to this age yet, but I will be buying a copy to have on hand when they do. Her teachings make so much sense to me.

I feel like I read this book just in time as my oldest son will turn fifteen in a few months. The middle school years are a significant milestone in a child’s life and Michelle Icard does a beautiful job illuminating many of the complexities that middle grade-aged children go through. Her main thesis is that there are fourteen talks she implores readers to have with their children with the undercurrent of before it’s too late. I appreciate how the sections were broken down into palatable bites: changing friendships, sexuality, criticism and technology, to name a few. I came away from this read with concrete ways in which to start sometimes challenging conversations with my children as well as precisely what not to say. Michelle Icard has made me feel less hesitant to have these important conversations sooner, rather than later. And I am going to listen, armed with all of the wonderful knowledge imparted on me from this fantastic resource.

Every parent should read this book — part tips, part prompts — this is a detailed guide to having meaningful conversations with your teenagers on crucial topics. I intend to use these suggestions and questions with my son and will recommend this to other adults.

I have a tween and we have slowly been going through the conversations in this book. I found this incredibly helpful to organize my thoughts and be able to really engage in the topics with my daughter. It gives you the tools to have the conversations without feeling like you have to follow a script. I was really pleasantly surprised how much this book enabled me to have good thoughtful conversations. I would highly recommend for parents whose kids are starting to enter the hormone and emotional stage. (Love the tween stage! :) ) Definitely worth a read!

I enjoyed this book! So many good pointers for parents who may think their kids are the only ones challenged by the bizarre underbelly of middle school. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for the advance digital copy! #FourteenTalksbyAgeFourteen #NetGalley

Having been a middle school teacher for twenty years I knew this book would be filled with plenty of wisdom that I had already picked up on. As a parent of an eleven and fourteen year old I read it anyway. I'm so glad I did. We've had some very difficult conversations with my daughter over the last six months or so and I know that we have more ahead of us with her as well as with my son. Michelle Icard's BRIEF model is a valuable tool to use and easy to remember so I expect to put it into good use. I loved her real-world examples and I love that the model is flexible enough to only use the parts necessary in a given situation. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to create an open two-way dialogue with their kids instead of the automatic one-way lectures we so commonly steer towards.

Michelle Icard lays out an easy to follow, casual formula for talking to your tween. The topics range from common sense living advice to more serious issues such as consent and sexuality. The book features a quick "crash course" at the end of each chapter to highlight the key points presented.