The grown-up's guide to teenage humans : how to decode their behavior, develop unshakable trust, and raise a respectable adult / Josh Shipp.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Nautilus Gold Award Winner: Parenting & Family

A practical guide to understanding teens from bestselling author and global youth advocate Josh Shipp.

In 2015, Harvard researchers found that every child who does well in the face of adversity has had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult. But Josh Shipp didn't need Harvard to know that. Once an at-risk foster kid, he was headed straight for trouble until he met the man who changed his life: Rodney, the foster parent who refused to quit on Shipp and got him to believe in himself.

Now, in The Grown-Up's Guide to Teenage Humans, Shipp shows all of us how to be that caring adult in a teenager's life. Stressing the need for compassion, trust, and encouragement, he breaks down the phases of a teenage human from sixth to twelfth grade, examining the changes, goals, and mentality of teenagers at each stage.

Shipp offers revelatory stories that take us inside the teen brain, and shares wisdom from top professionals and the most expert grown-ups. He also includes practice scripts that address tough issues, including:

FORGIVENESS: What do I do when a teen has been really hurt by someone and it's not their fault? COMMUNICATION: How do I get a teen to talk to me? They just grunt. TRUST: My teen blew it. My trust is gone. Where do we go from here? BULLYING: Help! A teen (or their friend) is being harassed. DIFFICULT AND AWKWARD CONVERSATIONS: Drugs. Death. Sex. Oh my.

Written in Shipp's playfully authoritative, no-nonsense voice, The Grown-Up's Guide to Teenage Humans tells his story and unpacks practical strategies that can make a difference. Ultimately, it's not about shortcuts or magic words--as Shipp reminds us, it's about investing in kids and giving them the love, time, and support they need to thrive.

And that means every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Author's Note (p. xv)
• Introduction: Every Kid Needs a "Rodney" (p. xvii)
• Part 1 The Three Key Mindsets
• Mindset #1 Teens Need You More Than It Seems (p. 3)
• Mindset #2 The Game Has Changed and So Must You (p. 17)
• Mindset #3 You'll Want and Need Help (p. 39)
• Part 2 The Phases of a Teenage Human
• Ages 11-12 The "Who Likes Me?" Phase (p. 69)
• Ages 12-14 The "Who Am I?" Phase (p. 73)
• Ages 14-15 The "Where Do I Belong?" Phase (p. 77)
• Ages 15-16 The "Why Can't I?" Phase (p. 81)
• Ages 16-17 The "How Can I Matter?" Phase (p. 85)
• Ages 17-18 The "What Will I Do?" Phase (p. 89)
• Part 3 Troubleshooting Common Teenage Challenges
• Relationship and Communication Challenges (p. 95)
• Getting Them to Take Ownership and Apologize (p. 99)
• What to Do When They Blow Your Trust (p. 109)
• Setting Up Clearly Written House Rules (p. 115)
• How to Improve Communication with Your Teen (p. 125)
• Difficult and Awkward Conversations (p. 131)
• How to Talk to Your Teen About Sex (p. 135)
• How to Talk to Your Teen About Death (p. 143)
• How to Convince Your Teen to Get Help (p. 147)
• Dangerous or Concerning Behavior (p. 155)
• Seven Warning Signs Every Parent Must Know (p. 159)
• I'm Worried My Teen Has an Eating Disorder (p. 161)
• I'm Worried My Teen is Acting Out in Anger (p. 167)
• I'm Worried My Teen is Using Drugs (p. 177)
• I'm Worried My Teen Is Sexting (p. 187)
• I'm Worried My Teen Is Cutting (p. 193)
• I'm Worried My Teen Is Stressed Out (p. 197)
• Teens and Tech Headaches (p. 203)
• Healthy Boundaries Around Screen Time (p. 207)
• Helping Them Think About What They Post Online (p. 213)
• Helping Them Understand the Harmful Effects of Pornography (p. 219)
• Helping Them Deal with Cyberbullies (p. 227)
• School and Education Challenges (p. 235)
• How to Think About School and Education (p. 241)
• How to Help Your Teen Succeed in the New Economy (p. 251)
• How to Respond to a Bad or an Unfair Teacher (p. 257)
• Helping Them Deal with Bullies (p. 267)
• In Closing: Your Voice Mattes More Than You Know (p. 275)
• Resources from Josh
• The Seven Things Every Teen Needs to Hear (p. 279)
• Twenty-One Ways to Ask Your Teen "How Was School Today?" Without Asking Them "How Was School Today?" (p. 281)
• Forty-Two Ways to Connect with Your Teen (p. 283)
• The Letter Your Teenager Can't Write You (Yet) (p. 287)
• Teen Cell Phone Contract (p. 289)
• Work With Josh (p. 293)
• Acknowledgments (p. 295)
• Notes (p. 297)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Youth advocate Shipp (Jump Ship) provides an accessible but superficial primer for helping parents understand and guide their kids through the often confounding adolescent years. With a colloquial and straightforward style, Shipp discusses major developmental phases and challenges common to young adults ages 12-18. He says this account is backed up by the work of "an incredible team of researchers, psychologists, and scientists," few of whom are actually mentioned in the text. Shipp addresses an array of typical problems faced by adolescents, including issues with communication, drugs, trust, dangerous behavior, screen time, school, and sex, each one accompanied by simple and logical action steps. A former at-risk foster child himself, Shipp seems to orient this book to parents of "problem" kids, declaring that no matter how troubled, "every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story." Full of sound bites ("What you don't talk out, you act out"), lists ("The Seven Things Every Teen Needs to Hear"), and other refrigerator-magnet-like reminders, this book reads like a transcript from one of Shipp's public-speaking gigs. Parents will find more substantive info in Frances Jensen's The Teenage Brain on why teens act the way they do, as well as better advice and less hype. Agent: Erin Niumata, Folio Literary. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.