Everything Guide to Raising Adolescent Boys: An essential guide to bringing up happy, healthy boys in today's world »

Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE, is a mother of seven children and author of The About.com Guide to Having a Baby, Guarantee the Sex of Your Baby, The About.com Guide to Baby Care, The Everything New Mother's First Year, The EverythingPregnancy Fitness Book, and The Everything Getting Pregnant Book. She has lectured on pregnancy, childbirth, parenting, and related topics to doctors, midwives, nurses, childbirth educators, doulas (professional pregnancy/labor coaches). She has written for numerous publications including Newsweek, Working Mother, the New York Times, Yahoo Internet Life, and American Baby. She lives in Kentucky.

Technical Reviewer: Mary E. Muscari, Ph.D., R.N., is a specialist in child health, mental health, and forensics. She has more than thirty years of experience working with children and teens. She has written or coauthored more than 100 publications, including Not My Kid: 21 Steps to Raising a Nonviolent Child, Not My Kid 2: Protecting Your Children from the 21 Threats of the 21st Century, and Let Kids be Kids: Rescuing Childhood. She lives in Hawley, PA.

He may push you away and claim that you embarrass him but your adolescent son needs your guidance and discipline now more than ever. The Everything Guide to Raising Adolescent Boys will help you make sense of your changing role as your son morphs from cuddly, loveable rascal to surly, untouchable teenager.

This essential guide shows you what to expect from your maturing son and how to handle typical adolescent growing pains, including:

• Sex and dating
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Academic issues
• Money and responsibility

Understand the challenges your son faces and equip him with the tools he needs to become a confident, independent teenager. With your help, your son won't just survive-he'll thrive!

Introduction     xi
Definition of Adolescent Boys     1
Being a Boy     1
The Difference a Year Makes     2
The Eating and Sleeping Machine     3
Physical Changes     5
Emotional Changes     7
Thinking Changes     9
Parenting Boys     11
How Boys Are Different     11
Single Children     13
Having Siblings     14
Birth Order     16
Staying Connected with Your Son     21
Communication Skills for Parents of Teens     21
Finding a Time and Place to Talk     23
What Not to Do     25
Talking to Your Son     28
The Family Meal     30
Communicating with Other Parents     33
Family Matters     34
Effective Discipline Techniques     37
Defining Discipline     37
Setting Boundaries     40
How to Fight     42
Natural or Logical Consequences     45
The Follow-Through     47
Let Him Be the Judge     48
Punishing Yourself     50
Your Son's Self-Esteem     53
What IsSelf-Esteem?     53
Finding the Good     56
Watching Criticism     58
Bullying     60
Fear of Failure     65
Fear of Success     67
Pressure to Be Perfect     69
Your Son's Self-Image     71
Body Image     71
Appearance and Cleanliness     73
Trends and Designer Clothes     75
His Space     78
The Physical Nature of Boys     80
Building Your Son's Character     85
Critical Thinking     85
Compassion     87
Empathy     89
Tolerance     90
Volunteerism     92
Religion and Spirituality     94
Developing a Sense of Responsibility     97
Time Management for Teens     97
Building a Work Ethic     99
Earning and Respecting Privacy     101
Cash or Credit: Managing Money     103
His First Job     105
Big Boys and Their Big Toys     107
Home Alone as a Latchkey Kid     108
Social Issues     111
Being an Individual     111
Manners for Young Men      113
Awareness of Others     114
Dealing with Anger     115
How to Be a Good Friend     117
Driving: The Rules and the Rights     119
Virtual Society: Texting, Chatting, E-mailing, and Blogging     122
School Issues     127
Homework Hassles     127
Finding Learning Styles and Differences     129
Dealing with an Underachiever     133
Dealing with an Overachiever     135
Outside Influences     139
Who Has Power and Why?     139
Friends     141
Peer Pressure     143
School     146
Television and Movies     148
Music and Music Videos     151
Video Games     152
The Internet     154
Risky Business     157
Tobacco: Chew, Snuff, and Cigarettes     157
Alcohol     160
Inhalants     162
Steroids     164
Abusing Legal Drugs     166
Illegal drugs     169
Defining the Rules     174
When to Get Professional Help     176
Types of Help Available     177
Dating and Sexuality      181
Having "The Talk"     181
Sexual Orientation     186
Masturbation     188
Dating Responsibly     190
Girlfriends     192
Friends Who Are Girls     194
Technical Virginity     196
Dating Violence     198
Coping with Mental Health Issues and Problem Behaviors     201
Identifying Problem Behavior     201
Bad Attitude and Negativity     203
ADHD and ADD     205
Lying     207
Stealing     209
Violence     211
Depression and Suicide     212
Living in a Fantasy World     215
Surviving and Thriving During His Adolescence     217
Don't Relive Your Own Adolescence     217
Letting Go     219
Accommodating Changing Interests     220
Avoiding Conflict     223
Rescuing Your Son     224
Refocusing Your Energies     226
Seeing Your Son as a Man     228
Resources     231
Ten Conversations to Have with Your Son     245
Index     254