Get a Clue!: A Parent's Guide to Understanding and Communicating with Your PreTeens FROM THE PUBLISHER
This practical companion to Reviving Ophelia and Real Boys shares the concerns of preteens in their own words and advises parents how to approach them confidently and effectively. Many parents may not want to know that their eight- to fourteen-year-olds are already facing serious issues and have questions such as: Why do people make fun of me because I am from another country? When will I know when puberty has struck? How do I deal with the feeling that no matter how good I do it's not good enough for my parents? What happens when a friend beats you up? Without support, understanding, and assistance, the anxiety these dilemmas evoke could undermine a child's confidence and self-image as he or she matures. In a reassuring style filled with practical pointers, Ellen Rosenberg, veteran educator of thirty years, tells parents how to open a discussion on the day-to-day questions their preteens have but may be reluctant to share. Handwritten queries from preteens are included in the text, and as they attest, your children do want you to know what's really going on. A communication bible that parents will return to again and again, Get a Clue! is sure to help parents and their children become closer and form a bond of trust that will last through middle school, high school, college, and beyond.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Educator Rosenberg attempts to open dialogue between parents and their pre-teen children, advising them to turn "feelings into words." Parents are taught to come across as "caring, not preachy" and are provided with sample one-on-one talks to use when addressing issues such as peer-pressure or sexuality. Rosenberg also shows parents how to help their children examine options and manage problems, from finding friends to doing better in school to clearly expressing themselves to peers (with the help of additional scripted lines). Central to Rosenberg's approach is her insistence that parents and children alike must understand that they can control only their own response to a situation, not the actual outcome. Among the author's concerns--gleaned from anonymous notes collected at her interactive presentations to students--are self-esteem, sexual development, friendship, popularity and peer pressure, risky behavior (smoking, drinking, sex, etc.) and family, all of which are discussed realistically and humanely. Rosenberg, however, often succumbs to wordiness and pedagogy, and the interspersed notes can be jarring. Even so, the book's inclusion of children's troubles expressed in their own words makes up for any weaknesses. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Rosenberg (Growing Up Feeling Good) shifts her audience from young adults to their parents with this newest title. Much of her focus here comes from her work with fifth- and sixth-grade students. The book deals with general topics such as relating to your children and teaching them to value themselves and respect others as well as specific topics such as teasing, dating, popularity, parties, and school. The book has a good table of contents and covers a wide range of topics pertinent to pre-teens. The issues in each chapter are introduced by comments Rosenberg received from students, e.g., "Sometimes I forget who I am because I'm too busy acting for my friends." The topics are relevant to parenting issues today, and this useful book was obviously written by someone who cares about children. A good addition to any public library's parenting collection.--Kathy Ingels Helmond, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
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