Traversing the years of adolescence is always challenging for those entering the realm of young adulthood. This journey, however, is not limited to teenagers. Parents, whether willingly or not, are also forced to cross this rather rickety bridge from childhood to adulthood right alongside their children. These sometimes tumultuous years are often guided by two burning questions to which fledgling adolescents and their parents are seeking answers: “Who am I?” and “Am I going to be okay on my own?” The success of this journey is intricately tied to parental guidance.

Listed below are several “guidebooks” to assist parents of burgeoning adolescents. While there are many available on the market, these are a few which we at IPA have found to be instrumental in understanding the adolescent:

With Boys in Mind:

• Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys By Dan Kindlon & Michael Thompson, PhD.
• The Wonder of Boys   By Michael Gurian
• The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and in Life   By Michael Gurian & Kathy Stevens
• Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood   By William Pollack
• Real Boys’ Voices   By William S. Pollack & Todd Schuster

With Girls in Mind:

• Stressed-out Girls: Helping Them Thrive in the Age of Pressure   By Roni Cohen-Sandler
• Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls   By Mary Pipher, PhD.
• Girl in the Mirror: Mothers & Daughters in the Years of Adolescence   By Nancy L. Snyderman & Peg Streep
• Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls   By Rachel Simmons
• Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence   By Rosalind Wiseman

For Both Boys and Girls

• Boys and Girls Learn Differently!   By Michael Gurian
• Secrets of the Teenage Brain: Research-Based Strategies for Reaching & Teaching Today’s Adolescents   By Sheryl G. Feinstein
• Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence   By Candice M. Kelsey

Children and Resilience

• Raising Resilient Children   By Robert Brooks, PhD., and Sam Goldstein, PhD.
• Nurturing Resilience In Our Children   By Robert Brooks, PhD., and Sam Goldstein, PhD.
• Raising a Self-Disciplined Child   By Robert Brooks, PhD., and Sam Goldstein, PhD.
• A Parent’s Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Your Child Roots and Wings   By Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD.
• Nurture the Nature   By Michael Gurian
• Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ By Daniel Goleman
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success   By Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
• The Unmotivated Child: Helping Your Underachiever Become a Successful Student   By Natalie Rathvon
• Cliques: 8 Steps to Help Your Child Survive the Social Jungle   By Charlene C. Giannetti and Margaret Sagarese
• The Six Stages of Parenthood   By Ellen Galinsky

Understanding Why Education Must Be Different Than When We Went to School

• The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century   By Thomas L. Friedman
• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future   By Daniel Pink
• Drive   By Daniel Pink
• Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself   By Daniel Pink