*Giveaway* What Do You Expect? She's a Teenager! by Arden Greenspan-Goldberg

"I'm in your corner, I know you can do this...Moms are their daughters' secret weapons and their very best defense." That's Arden Greenspan-Goldberg, a nationally recognized family and marriage psychotherapist who has specialized in teen issue for more than 30 years, encouraging mothers of teenage daughters. Based on her renowned clinical practice, as well as her own personal experience parenting her daughter, What Do You Expect? She's a Teenager! A Hope and Happiness Guide for Moms with Daughters 11-19 is the ultimate preparation manual and survival guide for mothers of tween and teens.

Packed with scripts, tips, expert interviews, real-life vignettes, stories and helpful conversation starters, What Do You Expect? She's a Teenager! prepares moms in advance for the issue they'll face, from the familiar teen problems-sex, drugs and alcohol use-to newer territory---cyberbullying, sexting, rainbow parties, and internet pornography. Greenspan-Goldberg explains her unique philosophy of Aerial Parenting, which helps gain mom perspective and how to respond rather than react. Turning conventional wisdom on its head, she argues against curfews and punishments, and instead tells us to expect our daughters to make mistakes and enlist them in creating their own solutions. With dedicated chapters ranging from technology to body image, family dynamics to dating, What Do You Expect? She's a Teenager! is Arden's essential and accessible primer providing mothers with much-needed guidance for surviving and thriving during the teen years with the ultimate goal of bringing out the best in both you and your daughter.

Scraps of Life Book Club: Did you ever read the "What to expect when..." series when you were pregnant, had a newborn and when you had a toddler? I always wondered if there was a book in that series called "What to expect when you have a teenager." There very well might be one but I have never looked. I loved that series of books and have often purchased them for baby shower gifts. This brings me to the current book review, "What Do You Expect? She's a Teenager!" This book is along the same lines as the "What to expect.." series but this book is a tad more serious. I probably should have read this when my girls were age 10 so that I could have been more prepared for the life as a teenager. (By the way, I have a 12 1/2 year old girl and TWO 17 year old girls (well they will be 17 in just a few short weeks.)

The author discussed Aerial Parenting which was comforting to me because that is the type of parenting my husband and I "try" to do. It is a style that educates and guides parents to recognize teens will make mistakes and how to get them to create a solution instead of the parent demanding a solution which will almost always, without fail, be rejected and argued upon with the teen.

The book mentioned many times for the mom to think how she was raised and dealt with life as a teen. I was pretty much left on my own, learning from those around me and thank goodness I had the sense to go the high road or I would not be the person I am today. I could have easily given in to all the worldly temptations in my environment but I didn't. That is why I tend to be tough on my teens because I know what is out there, I've prepared them for it. Really I just and I want to be the mother hen protecting them from the big bad wolf. It is a stressful job, at times.

The author does an excellent job in giving example after example of almost every expected or not expected situation that can and will come up with your teen. That is why this is a book to read before they are teens. If you education yourself and your child you will be prepared for what is coming or could come up. You can then call upon your prior knowledge or think of it as your prep courses to teenage issues which will allow you and your teen to make choices and changes as needed.

I dog-eared over 50 pages in this 300 plus page book so there are plenty of things to learn if you don't have a teen yet or you are deep into a teenage sticky situation. I could easily write a review for each of the chapters. They are all that good. For time sake I'll just list the chapters:
Aerial Parenting, Why Is She Like That?, Technology, Independence, Family Dynamics, School, Peers, Bullying, Dating, Sex, Body Image, Health and Personal Identity, Alcohol and Drugs, Mental Health Issues, Special Needs and How to Choose a Therapist.

I highly recommend this book if you have a daughter age 10 and up. This book will give you comfort, put fear into you because you are forced to think of topics you have wanted to avoid and give you the knowledge on how to deal with up and coming issues. NEVER think or SAY "My daughter will NEVER do that" or "That is NOTHING I have to worry about with my teen" because it can! Get out of the pretty princess land of denial and crack open this book with a huge bottle of wine. Considering that this is a book packed with tough topics, frighting issues, it is quick to read AND it is so well written you will think that you are reading a book that was written for you. There is much comfort in this book because you are preparing yourself for what your teen is driving toward. Education is a powerful thing!

About the Author
Arden Greenspan-Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., B.C.D., is a nationally known family and marriage psychotherapist who has specialized in teen issues for more than 30 years. She currently practices in New City, New York, and New York City. Visit askarden.com 

Here website is very informative. I was really surprised that I could not find any way to purchase her book via her site. You can go through the publisher, Sourcebooks,com or check Amazon, Barnes and Noble or your local library and bookstore.

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A copy of the book was provided by Tandem Literary to read and post a review. My own tasty opinions are expressed here.