The Seven Year Stretch: How Families Work Together to Grow Through Adolescence

Raising teens is not easy but this book is very helpful in understanding some of the intriques parents encounter along the way. Helps to seperate normal behavior with "behavior that is not quite right. Would encourage all to read. I read alittle a day so I could digest all the info.

Dr. Kastner's style is very down-to-earth yet transmits concentrated, dense information/wisdom that parents probably need to read more than once to fully absorb. The one disappointment is the lack of an index. As I put down the book and later picked it up to review, I always found myself going to the index and finding there was none. The material would be more accessible if an index were added, as the table of contents isn't sufficiently detailed to help locate very specific points.

I'm an auntie of a 12 year old neice and a 10 year old nephew. This is the first book I've read on the mystery of adolesence and it was exactly what I was looking for. Clear, easy to understand, doable ideas and logic for keeping these tough relationships on track. Great anticdotes that remind you how painful it was to be that age - what you were thinking about. Great examples, concise, and hopeful - a great read. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "launching" - who knew there were so many issues, so much to consider, when pushing a child out of the nest SUCCESSFULLY say, to college?

I picked up this book a few weeks ago - my two daughters are twelve and fourteen. I could not put it down. Every page is applicable to our lives. I felt reassured that my girls are very normal, and that I am doing okay. Situations from real-life 'positive' family interactions remind me of where I can improve in my communication as a parent. Lessons are realistic, not restricted to an ideal world, or unattainable in our chaotic, busy household. The book is kept in the 'reference ' section of our library, and as issues arise, I turn to the Table of Contents to find the chapter pertaining to my quandry - sexuality, social issues with peers. I have shown excerpts to my older daughter, and we laugh together, seeing ourselves, and finding solutions agreeable to us both. My only complaint is that the book is only 300 pages - we have more questions with which I am sure the authors could offer insight. Bottom Line -- This book is real life, practical, helpful.