LETTING GO WITH LOVE AND CONFIDENCE
By Kenneth Ginsburg and Susan FitzGerald
“When is my daughter ready to walk to school by herself?”
“When is my son ready for a cell phone?”
“What’s a good age to allow my kid to date?”
“When and how do I talk to my kids about sex?”
For twenty years, Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, the Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and one of the nation’s foremost experts on child-rearing has been helping parents find a way to answer questions like the ones above. Although many parents dread the day their adolescent or teen begins to ask such questions, Dr. Ginsburg believes that these inquiries provide great opportunities for fostering resilience and building confidence in your child.
In LETTING GO WITH LOVE AND CONFIDENCE: Raising Responsible, Resilient, Self-Sufficient Teens in the 21st Century (Avery; on sale August 2, 2011; $18.00), Dr. Ginsburg and Susan FitzGerald, an award-winning journalist, arm present-day parents a practical, thoughtful, modern strategy for guiding their children through all the turning points of adolescence and young adulthood. “Letting go” and nurturing teens to become healthy, well-adjusted adults may be a more challenging process than ever before: with the increasingly invasive nature of today’s pop-culture, the virility of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and negative peer influences. These many new pressures and opportunities force kids to grow up faster than they should. To this end, Dr. Ginsburg offers a proactive plan-of-attack for all parents who find themselves at a loss when considering the “whens” and “hows” of parenting in the 21st century.
By asking themselves three simple questions–is it safe? Is it practical? Does it meet my standards for morality and decency?—parents can then begin a thoughtful evaluation of how to address the inevitabilities of parenting: Whether it’s getting a cell phone for their child, letting them stay at home alone, or drive with friends, parents can approach each “situation” without fear, with an open mind, and most importantly, with a planned strategy.
OVER
An invaluable tween/teen-rearing guide for contemporary times, Letting Go helps parents avoid conflict surrounding the “whens,” of growing up. From issues like getting on-line to sleepovers and curfews, these are decisions parents make everyday. Next, Dr. Ginsburg tackles the “hows”—that is, how to discuss weightier subjects like sex, drugs, and bullying. Letting Go with Love and Confidence gives parents concrete tools and strategies to help them raise their children to become well-adjusted and self-sufficient.
Divided into three sections (“Setting the Stage,” which offers a wealth of knowledge about all aspects of adolescent development and effective parenting strategies, “When is My Child Ready To…” and “How to Talk…About the Really Tough Stuff”), Letting Go with Love and Confidence provides step-by-step, critical information needed to deal with all the “when” decisions and “how” discussions of adolescence, and helps parents achieve five ultimate goals:
• Manage Emotions around Letting Go: Many parents are conflicted about their children growing up. The desire to keep things the way they’ve always been gets in the way of wise parental decisions. Letting Go with Love and Confidence addresses the emotional turmoil around letting go and urges parents to care for themselves, so they can better care for their children.
• Reduce Conflict Around the Whens: It’s the everyday “when can I?” questions that trigger many struggles. Parents will learn to turn potential sources of conflict into opportunities for growth.
• Minimize Anxiety Over the Hows: Certain subjects are tough to talk about and the stakes in getting the conversations right seem so high. How do you talk about sex? Parents will learn how to approach sensitive subjects with honesty and clarity, increasing the chances they will be heard.
• Gain Confidence to Make the Right Decisions: Parenting often seems like a mystery, but it shouldn’t. Letting Go prepares parents to make decisions because they’ll have new insight into their child’s developmental needs, strengths and challenges.
• Understand That Nurturing Independence Is An Act of Love. Letting go is more than giving up something valuable. The ultimate goal of parenting is to produce a healthy, well-adjusted adult. The gift of independence is a profound expression of parental love.
An invaluable resource to transforming a traditional time of strife into an opportunity for positive growth, Letting Go with Love and Confidence is the 21st-century parent’s guide for raising 21st-century kids.
About the Authors
Kenneth Ginsburg, M.D., is a pediatrician specializing in Adolescent Medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He also serves as Director of Health Services at Covenant House Pennsylvania, an agency that serves Philadelphia’s homeless and marginalized youth. Additionally, Dr. Ginsburg works with The Child, Adolescent and Family Behavioral Health Office of the US Army and The Military Child Education Coalition preparing military parents, health professionals, counselors, and teachers to incorporate stress reduction and resilience-building strategies as they serve the nation’s two million military children. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and two teenage daughters.
Susan FitzGerald is an award-winning journalist with a specialty in children’s health issues. A former staff writer and editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer, where she covered medicine, children’s health and development and public health, she is now an independent writer. She and her husband live outside Philadelphia and have three sons. Visit her website at WordsbyFitzGerald.com.
LETTING GO WITH LOVE AND CONFIDENCE
By Kenneth Ginsburg and Susan FitzGerald
Avery paperback original
On sale: August 2, 2011| Price: $18.00
ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK AND PENGUIN AUDIO
