Based on conducting formal and informal studies of over 1,200 kids, Feldhahn and Rice share answers to questions we would love to ask our own kids. What causes your child to make reckless choices? Is it rebellion? Is it peer pressure? The answers may surprise you. A mere four percent of teens cite rebellion, and only six percent cite peer pressure, as the reason for doing something that their parents would disapprove of. What is teens' number one motivator?

Healthy development brings physical and emotional changes, and teens struggle with their identity. Becoming independent means more freedom, including owning material things like a cell phone or a car. Freedom becomes the primary motivator, and Dr. Julie Carbery equates the pursuit of freedom with an addiction to cocaine - shocking words for worried parents. Yet teens' behavior may look similar to addicts': teens love the feeling of freedom, they want more, and they'll fight to keep it. How do you cope without losing your sanity? Read this book for parenting tips, such as establishing clear rules, gaining trust, and listening to kids' problems, rather than jumping to solve them.

Feldhahn and Rice share study results plus teens' statements of their needs and what they want from parents. Feldhahn and Rice explain teenage behavior without condoning all behavior. Best read chapter to chapter, For Parents Only provides light Christian guidance to understanding and disciplining your teen. Two minor annoyances include some unnecessary highlights of recent prose, and the authors' choice to interrupt the first person narrative by denoting the speaker in parenthesis. I loved the anecdotes and explanations, such as comparing toddlers' block-building to teens' identity quest. Readers will be amazed at the different needs of boys and girls. If the teenage stage leaves you stumbling as a parent, keep the faith and take your first steps in For Parents Only.

Highly recommended.