Book review: Tough Guys and Drama Queens

This book is meant to be a guidebook to help parents navigate the difficult emotional and relational issues that come with having tweens and teens. There is so much that is changing in our world in regards to technology, communication, entertainment and culture in general, when you compound that with changing hormones and trying to figure out this strange middle ground between childhood and being an adult, it can be a very combustible combination.

 I loved this book! While it took a little while to get going, I thought that Mark spent a little too long emphasizing that the world has changed in this now digital age, the practical advice and the topics covered where spot on. By presenting major topics in both parenting styles to avoid and parenting styles/things to embrace, Mark lays out steps to develop and maintain a relationship with your child that will stand through the storms of the tween/teen years. This relationship is critical as you are ultimately trying to equip your child with the skills necessary to become a functioning adult.

Using stories that Mark has personally witnessed by being a youth counselor as well as just presenting the bigger picture, this is a great book to put into your parenting ‘toolkit’. I hope that I am able to actually put this information into practice and as my kids go through these years, be able to have successful kids and strong relationships with them in the end.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”