HOW TO CONNECT WITH YOUR iTEEN

A Parenting Roadmap

By Susan Morris Shaffer and Linda Perlman Gordon

An actionable guide to staying close to your teens in the digital age

Parents’ desire to stay close to their teenagers is a universal one – most just don’t know the best way to go about it. Parents must grapple with society’s and the media’s expectations of what a perfect parent should be. Add in emerging technologies, biological functions, lack of self-confidence, secrets, boundaries, and privacy, and it’s harder than ever for parents to stay close to children who are digital natives but still unsophisticated in many ways, and continuously changing.

In How to Connect with your iTeen (McGraw-Hill Professional; PB, $20.00; May, 2015), experts Susan Morris Shaffer and Linda Perlman Gordon advise parents on the best ways to tackle complicated issues unique to the digital era. From online predators to oversharing, from private family issues they shouldn’t share to pictures they should never post, here are successful techniques for navigating everything from socially complex issues surrounding sexting and bullying to everyday challenges around school and homework.

A valuable book for educators and counselors, as well, this how-to guide offers techniques and guidance navigating through an ever-changing landscape fraught with unreasonable expectations, heightened pressures, fast-paced atmospheres, and a world that is frequently unpredictable and often violent. Teachers and administrators can also play a powerful role in guiding teens through the often murky waters of adolescence.

This evidence-based guide and from two parenting experts will walk readers through:

• Effective strategies to nurture and develop the 6 essential characteristics teens need to become productive and successful adults—no matter how they define success

• Dependable ways to maintain authority and stay emotionally connected to teens in a world of longer work hours, interrupted conversations, and planned activities

• Reliable methods for keeping teens safe and protecting their privacy

About the Authors:

Susan Morris Shaffer is president of an educational nonprofit that promotes and provides resources for parents, community members, and educators in the mid-Atlantic region. She routinely shares her expertise on a local and national level to assess teenager issues, develop policy and validate school strategies.

Linda Perlman Gordon, M.S.W., M.Ed., is a psychotherapist in private practice in Chevy Chase, MD. She is a graduate of the Family Therapy Practice Center in Washington, DC and has advanced degrees in both social work and education.

Selected media appearances and interviews for Shaffer and Gordon include, CNN, MSNBC, ABC “World News Now,” Oprah.com, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the Washington Post. They were invited to participate at the 2001 White House Conference on Teenagers.

Read more at www.parentingroadmaps.com.

Suggested Interview Questions:

• Your first two chapters address “Who’s Life Is It, Anyway?” and “”Resisting Entitlement.” Talk about how boundaries fit into these equations.
* How do you overcome the challenges of parenting in the digital age? What is the impact of social media on teenage behavior?
* If you are the parent of a teen with a different sexual orientation, how can you make him/her feel more comfortable in our culture?
* What is happening in the teenage brain and why is it important to understand this?
*Are teens hard wired to take risks? Why?
*How do you encourage persistence, grit, and independence to create resiliency in teens?
*What are the qualities of a “perfectly imperfect parent?”
• What kinds of positive images can have a lasting effect on sons and daughters?
• What are some of the specific hurdles children face at school?
• Sons and daughters face different challenges – can you describe what those are?
• How has the media played a role in parenting?
• You write about warning signs – what risks should parents be alert to, and why?

Also, available in e-book