Think Confident, Be Confident for Teens - A Cognitive Therapy Guide to Overcoming Self-Doubt and Creating Unshakable Self-Esteem

Frequent visits to the principal's office. Detentions. Suspensions. Expulsions. These are the established tools of school discipline for kids who don't abide by school rules, have a hard time getting along with other kids, don't seem to respect authority, don't seem interested in learning, and are disrupting the learning of their classmates. But there's a big problem with these strategies: They are ineffective for most of the students to whom they are applied.

It's time for a change in course.

Here, Dr. Ross W. Greene presents an enlightened, clear-cut, and practical alternative. Relying on research from the neurosciences, Dr. Greene offers a new conceptual framework for understanding the difficulties of kids with behavioral challenges and explains why traditional discipline isn't effective at addressing these difficulties. Emphasizing the revolutionarily simple and positive notion that kids do well if they can, he persuasively argues that kids with behavioral challenges are not attention-seeking, manipulative, limit-testing, coercive, or unmotivated, but that they lack the skills to behave adaptively. And when adults recognize the true factors underlying difficult behavior and teach kids the skills in increments they can handle, the results are astounding: The kids overcome their obstacles; the frustration of teachers, parents, and classmates diminishes; and the well-being and learning of all students are enhanced.

In Lost at School, Dr. Greene describes how his road-tested, evidence-based approach -- called Collaborative Problem Solving -- can help challenging kids at school.

His lively, compelling narrative includes:

tools to identify the triggers and lagging skills underlying challenging behavior.

explicit guidance on how to radically improve interactions with challenging kids -- along with many examples showing how it's done.

dialogues, Q & A's, and the story, which runs through the book, of one child and his teachers, parents, and school.

practical guidance for successful planning and collaboration among teachers, parents, administrations, and kids.

Backed by years of experience and research, and written with a powerful sense of hope and achievable change, Lost at School gives teachers and parents the realistic strategies and information to impact the classroom experience of every challenging kid.

Teenagers are unique beings, requiring a whole new parenting approach. Dr. Karyn Gordon, or “dk” as teens call her, knows that approach and has been coaching adolescents and parents for over a decade. She’s a high-demand speaker, an expert on The Mom Show and the go-to teen parenting source for Canadian media. Using her dynamic, pragmatic advice and experience, Dr. Karyn cracks the mysterious code that defines teen behaviour.

A book that stands alone amid other parenting guides, Dr. Karyn’s Guide to the Teen Years is firmly based on what teens actually think, feel and do. Gordon explains the recent research that shows the teen brain is actually different and reveals how this difference radically affects adolescent-and parent-behaviours. Her PARENT keys, seen below, will unlock the secret to a happier, healthier parentteen relationship.

• Picture: the importance of thinking “big picture” and why parents have to understand what they are hoping to achieve with their teen
• Attitude: identifying a person’s overall attitude towards parenting and how one’s own upbringing and family principles shape it
• Respect: building a healthy sense of respect and self-esteem in your teenager
• Emotion: understanding your teen’s emotional brain-and your own
• Non-Verbal/Verbal Communication: 10 different communication styles and how they affect your relationship
• Teach: how to teach responsibility and develop a balanced structure that reflects your family values

Throughout the book, Gordon advises on central issues, including depression and mental illness, substance abuse, sex and sexual orientation, privacy and independence, friends and peer pressure, trouble with the law, learning styles and school choices, bullying and violence, and step-parenting. Interspersed with case studies and revealing quotes from teens, Dr. Karyn’s Guide to the Teen Years is the guide all parents should read before their child’s 12th birthday.

Dr. Karyn’s Guide to the Teen Years is for parents who:

• have trouble understanding or communicating with their teen
• worry their teen is unhappy
• feel they’re doing too much for their teen
• wish their teen would eat healthier, spend smarter or schedule better
• feel guilty when they say “no”