Book Review of "What's Happening to My Teen?" by Mark Gregston

What's Happening to My Teen? [Soft cover]by Mark Gregston224 pages, $13.99ISBN-13: 978-0736924443NonfictionReview by Steven King, MBA, MEdWhen children are young, they want their parents to enjoy playtime with them. Daughters are princesses and sons are the princes of their families. A delightful afternoon can be spent making mud pies in the back yard. Refrigerators and social networking sites are quickly adorned with every treasure discovered.Then...around age 12-13, something dreadful happens. Independence looms. The one who was content to play in the backyard suddenly realizes they are not grafted to you. And to the chagrin of many fathers, the opposite sex takes on new meaning in the eyes of our children.Perhaps you are like myriad of parents before you who are struggling, asking themselves, "What happened? How come my child wants nothing to do with me anymore?" Moving from hero to zero is one of the most deflating experiences any parent can experience.Mark Gregston bel
ieves he can answer this question. In his What's Happening to My Teen, he attempts to share insights from his 30-year involvement with teenagers. Moving from his beginnings in youth ministry, he and his wife opened Heartlight, a residential treatment center for boys and girls in Hallsville, Texas. Since 1989, he has worked with thousands of teens who have struggled with issues of lying, selfishness, depression, or disrespect for authority. His presentation is the through the eyes of numerous "teens," from which he shares particular insight. For instance, the difficulty and transition a seven-year-old Chad experienced when his parents divorced.While Gregston offers good insight about adolescent behavior, his book reads like an indictment of parenthood. Throughout much of the book, he is quick to point out that what parents label as rebellion, for instance, is really just "normal" behavior for any given teen. Gregston's approach to education is a little naïve, as he insinuate
s that frequently the problem lies with the school's inability to reach the student, instead of the student's inability to conform to the wishes of the school.Other than that, his insight about the harmful effects of insulating students who are primarily homeschooled is perhaps some of the best instruction this writer has ever come across. Inappropriate insulation from the "real world" can, and does, have catastrophic consequences.If your teen is out of control and you have come to the end of your rope - read this book. It might inform you about what has happened to your teen.

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