TLC: Talking, Listening, Connecting

Much of this book concerns parenting young children, but I found it very insightful on adolescents as well. The author emphasizes the importance of maintaining a warm and loving relationship with teenagers no matter what, and moving from the parent role to a consultant role. Highly recommended.

If I could give this book 6 stars, I would have! It's well written and contains practical advice on how to relate to your children. This book is really a must-read for every parent who wants to communicate better with their kids. Dr. Rosen is an expert in this field and it shows in his book. Again, can't recommend this book enough for all parents and anyone who deals with kids.

This book really is all about TLC in every sense of that acronym. It picks up where other parenting books just drop you off to fend for yourself. I don't believe there's anything wrong with therapy for children; it can be a huge help. In conjunction with a good therapist, or without one, parents can use Dr. Rosen's wonderful book to be their child's mentor, teacher, and friend, talking and listening. You and your child can learn so much from each other. Read this book and use it!

I thought I knew everything there is to know about working with kids, because I work with them everyday as a School Adjustment Counselor and I am the parent of three children spanning all ages. This book STILL gave me great ideas on how to communicate (and even have great, close relationships!) with kids in SIMPLE, DIRECT language. Using ideas that all therapists know, this book really helps you navigate the very tough waters of raising a child in this day and age, STEP BY STEP. Common sense solutions to all kinds of issues such as teasing, bullying, peer pressure, discipline... it's all here for parents and even teachers. I also used some of the ideas with my classroom groups, because it is very "value-based", meaning that Dr. Rosen was not afraid to touch on character development as well - so important in this time when we are all trying hard to raise the next generation of responsible, healthy and well-adjusted kids. I loved this book, and couldn't put it down once I started it.

I just finished reading it this afternoon and really enjoyed it. Excellent parent resource. I like how empowering the approach is for parents. The kind of communication Dr. Rosen suggests that parents use takes care, thought, and time, but does not require a graduate degree. Rather, it simply requires a loving parent. It takes a good deal of the "mystique" out of formal counseling when the issues are garden variety issues of growing up.