The Good Enough Teen
Raising Adolescents with Love and Acceptance (Despite How
Impossible They Can Be)  
By Dr. Brad E. Sachs

    Family psychologist Dr. Brad Sachs had just printed his book “The Good Enough Child” when he found himself swamped by requests. It seemed that some parents were desperate for advice on how to best raise their teenagers. Dr. Sachs at first eschewed these requests, pointing out that his book on children could easily be adapted to teens too. Fortunately for the parents (and anyone who comes into regular contacts with teenagers) Dr. Sachs overcame his initial reluctance. The result is the infinitely readable and enjoyable “The Good Enough Teen”.

   In his latest book, Dr. Sachs does not tell parents how to change their children into perfect outstanding adults. Instead, he leads adults through the five stages that will enable them to, “distinguish between what you want for your child and what you want from your child”. The goal here is not to give parents the key to raising ideal offspring, but rather to discover "The Good Enough Teen" on their own. This teen is a combination of the fantasy children we all want and the actual children we’ve given birth to. As such, the book shows the positive impact of positive in-depth counseling and getting to the root of teens’ problems. And the root, more often than not, are the parents themselves. To give readers an understanding of what he’s trying to say, Dr. Sachs peppers his book with useful true-to-life examples of real teens and parents who have come to him for help over the years. The book is told with humor, compassion, and a heavy dose of common sense. As a result, readers of this book will find themselves drawn to Sachs’ arguments and innovative ideas.

    As Dr. Sachs himself points out, there are no hard and fast rules for raising adolescents today. What this book proposes is that we work through our teens’ problems and distinguish their harmful behaviors from their normal attempts to break away and make it on their own. “The Good Enough Teen” is an excellent exercise in understanding our young adults. It should be required reading for every parent of a teen.