Thursday, July 29, 2010

ENGAGING YOUR TEEN'S WORLD

How many times have you blamed your teen's behavior, attitude or the way they dress on today's culture? I think at one time or another all parents have, but it is time we face the facts...gone are the days when Greg and Marcia Brady were the popular teen idols.

Teenagers today are flooded with messages from pop culture via television and  other  media. They see that sex and promiscuity are okay.  They are shown what the perfect body image looks like, and how the world will judge them if they do not abide by what the media considers to be the cultural “norm.” As a result, the US has the highest rate of teen drug use, eating disorder, and pregnancy.







In his book, ENGAGING YOUR TEEN'S WORLD Become a Culturally Savvy Parent, Brian Housman will help you make sense of your teen's world, while showing you how to be a positive influence in your teen's life as you help them wade through this culture-obsessed world.

ENGAGING YOUR TEEN'S LIFE is divided into three sections:

PART 1: Engaging Your Teen's Culture "deals with unhealthy approaches to teen culture that many of us experience as parents".

  • When our teens make poor choices, we are quick to blame someone or something else - the music, video games, Hollywood, and our "parental pride" gets in the way:
"You've got the wrong kid."
"Not my child!"
"It's not my fault"


"My son would never do drugs."
"My daughter is wearing a purity ring, so she is not going to have sex"

  • He also refers to scripture throughout the book to demonstrate that what you are going through with your teen is what God had planned all along.

PART 2: Engaging Your Teen's Heart "takes you on a journey of discovery into who your teenager really is".
A few values given in ENGAGING YOUR TEEN'S WORLD include: 

               BEHAVIOR                                              VALUE

               Sexual Relationship                                 Need for love               
               Partying with the wrong crowd                  Need for community
Discovering the VALUE is key to helping change the BEHAVIOR.

PART 3: Engaging The World Together, "Once you understand healthy ways to respond to a teen's culture, and you understand who your teen is, then you are ready to move into the world together to love others."
  • He points out that Christians are not engaging the world and today's culture.  When Christians don't like something that is happening in their community, instead of helping to change the problem to how God intended, they just start their own little community, with  Christian schools, businesses, music, etc.
  • You will learn ways  to teach your teen how to demonstrate the love of God by engaging  the community and neighborhood no matter how different the people are or what their beliefs are.
  • ENGAGING YOUR TEEN'S WORLD helps you understand that you don't have to have all the answers, and it is okay to tell your teen, "I don't know".

-ENGAGING YOUR TEEN'S WORLD Become A Culturally Savvy Parent will show you how to let go of those unhealthy ideas about today's culture and will guide you through those tough teenage years.
 
Below is a video of an interview with Brian Housman.




Click on any of the blue quotes above to be taken to Brian Housman's website, www.awaketolife.org


 







Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Brian Housman. 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”



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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your blog ... I have 2 teens myself - it's a minefield!

I worry when you say that kids see ....
"... sex and promiscuity as OK ... "

I am afraid I have to disagree here. My kids realise that there are a lot of folk out there who accept that it's par for the course - but I still think that they realise it's not OK.
Thankfully my kids still have the self respect to take life at their own pace - and long may it last.
It's up to us as their parents to allow them to feel comfortable in their own skin.

I am from the UK - and our statistics on teen pregnancy and drug use are - like the US - appalling :o(

I am following you blog now - keep up the great work.

Marla said...

Stopping by from New Friend Friday. I see you're also doing the problogger 31DBBB challenge. I've been following along with the threads on BlogFrog, reading the tips from other bloggers, trying to learn something new. We'll see if it works, I guess. ;p

Anyways, happy to meet you!

Michelle said...

Hi There!

Visiting from New Friend Friday! I am a mom of two teens, 13 and 15 and it is very refreshing to connect with moms that have kids the same age! I look forward to your posts and I am a new follower through Google.

Please visit my blog sometime at www.styleingenuity.com

Cheers!
- Shelli :)

Cakeblast said...

Looks like a very interesting book. I am a new follower from Friendly Friday! http://cakeblast.com

Krissy said...

I love the colors of your blog!! Seems a lot of good posts to read. I'll get to that now!

Following (late) from Friendly Friday! Hopefully you can stop by and follow me as well!

http://theartsymom.tk

Dawn said...

I think I want to get this book! You are SO RIGHT about parents putting on blinders and not believing their kid can mess up. We made that mistake too. I have done post series on it, in fact. I'm currently working my way through a series on teen drug use and abuse. Parents have to pull their heads out of the clouds, tune into their teen's world, pay attention and get INVOLVED.

Beth Reed said...

your website is seriously a great resource! My kids aren't there yet (7 & 8) and I'm SO not ready to face some of the issues you cover, but that's great to know there is advice out there when I need it. God bless the internet, eh? lol.

I'm a new follower from MBC and would love for you to come visit me at http://www.createyourtraditions.com. :)

Amanda- The Nutritionist Reviews said...

Hello! I am a new follower. Please subscribe to my blog too..I have 4 current giveaways going on too! Can't wait to read more of your posts!

http://couponclippingnutritionist.blogspot.com/

The Housewife said...

Thanks for adding me to your blogroll!

You have a great blog here. I think the content that you're covering is important and it's great that you're so honest about it!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Laura, coming to you via Blog Connect (and yes, your link works great now!).

What a great book review. It's enough information to make me interested in reading it, but not too much!

I don't have any kids in the teen age as of yet, but I do have a tween son right now, and I feel it's never too early to engage our kids in a meaningful relationship. It's not as though they wake up one morning when they're teenagers and decide that mom and dad have good advice. That groundwork must be laid early! So, I'll be back to get more insights and tips on how I can engage my kids and become one of their preferred "go-to" people for help!

Ronnica said...

I think teens are best served by an engaged parent...one who continues to talk about the influences in his life and why they're positive or negative. Dialogue is key!

Vera said...

This is a good resource for parents of teenagers. More often than not there is a huge gap between parents and their teeners but they all want the same things.

used stationary bikes said...

hi, thanx for the nice share. parents have to read it..

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