Books - Field Guide To The American Teenager

Field Guide To The American Teenager: A Parent's Companion

by Joseph Di Prisco, Michael Riera

Product Description

From Amazon.com

While the Field Guide to the American Teenager offers titular hope of guidance for the parents of teens, a more accurate title would be "Field Observations of the American Teenager." Authors and educators Michael Riera and Joseph DiPrisco, both Ph.D.s, present insights into many issues that are commonly confronted by teens today: drug use, weapons at school, homosexuality, romance, eating disorders, and race relations, to name a few. But rather than confronting the issues with a laundry list of do's and don'ts, the authors try to help readers understand what teens are thinking and why they act as they do. A discussion of date rape, for instance, doesn't offer any specifics on how to help teens avoid this situation; instead, it looks at why teens choose to engage in the kind of risk-taking behavior that might lead to date rape. "What is frightening about adolescence," they write, "is how close to the margins of irreparable damage and loss teenagers routinely place themselves, how close they come to the shore of no return." These types of observations aren't necessarily reassuring to parents who may be looking for a pat formula to help them navigate the teen years. Many chapters, with titles like "Drinking and Driving" or "Race and Adolescence," have little to do with the named topics. Instead, the authors use such topics as jumping-off points for discussions of underlying issues like trust, communication, self-esteem, integrity, friendship, ambiguity, peer pressure, and responsibility.

Any parent who has raised a teen knows that there is no one formula for success. Field Guide will help parents better understand their teens--but it leaves the hard work of finding parenting strategies that fit a particular teen firmly in the hands of the parent. --Virginia Smyth --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Seasoned educators Riera and Di Prisco cover many of the heavy-hitting topics that teens face, including drinking and driving, sexual issues, eating disorders, decision-making, violence and drugs. In fact, as the authors recognize, these issues "come with the territory of adolescence." It's not easy being a teen or the parent of a teen. Riera and Di Prisco use an unusual format to present each issue, employing extended anecdotes and simulated conversations to illustrate each teen dilemma. This method is unique, but it may frustrate parents searching for easy answers; the truth is there are no pat answers when it comes to teens, for "every teenager is happy and moody and tense and confused in different ways." Still readers will find intelligent observations about teens; the authors have a solid grasp on what makes adolescents tick. The issue-oriented organization of the text is helpful, though each chapter's attention to the details of a particular teen's problem may leave some readers wishing that more time was spent on a general analysis of the problems all teens confront. The appendixes, which break down teen behavior into developmental characteristics, are particularly useful. The authors' over-riding themes that parents should influence, not control their teen's life; that teens need to be trusted, guided, and loved are invaluable for parents facing this challenging time in their child's life. (Sept.)

From Library Journal

"Field guide" sounds like a quick, index-dependent, easy-answer reference tool. Not so! Riera (Surviving High School) and Di Prisco, both educators and writers, realize that there are no easy answers to questions about raising teens. Each chapter begins with a story that could happen anywhere e.g., a high school freshman hesitates reporting a gun for fear of being labeled a "narc" and includes conversations between teens and adults to help clarify these real-life incidents. The authors present solid insights into teens' motivation, weapons use, integrity, race issues, eating disorders, drinking, depression, date rape, and sexuality. Teens have sex, the authors assert, not for physical pleasure but for social status. Riera and Di Prisco understand that adolescence is a disorderly path, that peers are more important to teens than parents, and that longing for "normalcy" makes teens feel completely abnormal. This excellent work is to be thoroughly read, reread, and thought about; for public libraries. Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA

From Kirkus Reviews

A lively, wise, and user-friendly translation of bewildering teen-aged behavior.Riera is an author, educator, and media expert on adolescence and parenting (the Oxygen network and other major TV shows), while Di Prisco is a writer who has taught adolescents for decades. For all the significant issues taken up, there are realistic scenarios that provide tools for discussion. In the "Drinking and Driving" chapter, the authors tell us why the Designated Driver takes too much marijuana (offered by a girl he likes) and why his inebriated friend is willing to drive home (not miss curfew). Another frightening case involves school violence: a high school freshman hesitates to report a gun because he fears being pegged as a "narc." Other areas where teenagers test their newly expanded limits involve date rape and drug use. Riera and Di Prisco assure us that it's rarely about getting sexual release or getting high, but rather a matter of social status and self-worth. Since high-school students are unlikely to discuss problems with adults, the authors advise us to get information more subtly, from friends and peers. If communication across the generation gap is strained, we are warned that the young of different ages tend to "talk over and past each other." More common crises taken up here include academic cheating, eating disorders, clashes with a job supervisor, depression, and romantic heartbreaks. When it comes to problems that they didn't cause, like parental divorce or being born with a learning disability, young people slowly learn to accept that life isn't fair-but is survivable. Sure, parents are helpless before the mystery of their child's love life, but empathy never prevents Riera and Di Prisco from advising parents to set firm guidelines. "Parenting is not a science; it's an art": the authors avoid smug formulae and write in a colloquial, jargon-free style. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

-Time

"Wise and sensitive."

Product Description

Addressing the isolation, fear, and silence parents endure during their child's adolescence, authors Michael Riera and Joseph Di Prisco get beyond the stereotypes to expertly guide parents to a better appreciation of their teenager's frustrating if not completely troubling behavior.Through stories and conversations, Field Guide to the American Teenager dramatizes teens living their lives on their own terms, illuminating for bewildered and sometimes beleaguered parents what is extraordinary in the ordinary reality of everyday teenage life. Complete with suggestions for parents to improve communication, Field Guide lets parents stand briefly in their teenager's shoes, ultimately guiding families toward genuine mutual respect and understanding.

About the Author

Michael Riera, Ph.D., has worked in education since 1980. The author or co-author of four other popular parenting books including Field Guide to the American Teenager and Uncommon Sense for Parents of Teenagers, he is the family and adolescent correspondent on "The CBS Early Show." He has also appeared on "Oprah," "Today," "The View," and "48 Hours." He lives in Berkeley, California. Joseph Di Prisco, Ph.D., is an educator and writer who has taught for more than twenty years in public, independent, and Catholic schools, middle school through college. He lives in Berkeley, California.

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