Dawn Benson Jones

Introduction

I recently was blessed with the opportunity to interview my friend Patty Scott about her new book Parenting Your Teen Through Chaos & Crisis. Here Patty opens up about what propelled her to write on such an important topic, and she also shares some of her best parenting advice. Enjoy!

Q:  I know that you recently wrote the book Parenting Your Teen Through Chaos & Crisis. Would you mind providing a short synopsis of what the book is about?

A:  Yes, thank you.  The book grew out of a desire to bless moms of teens.  I realized, as a mother of my own teen, that we can fall into various patterns of thinking and reacting.  I wanted to help women release the guilt we sometimes feel as moms and to replace that with healthy ways of seeing ourselves and interacting with our family.  In the book I show parents how to move into a role of effective influence in their adolescent’s life.  I talk about how to allow and choose consequences that will make a difference.  The book also covers how to have a healthy relationship by remaining appropriately connected to your teenager while simultaneously letting them go so they can grow. I close the book by emphasizing the importance of having systems of support in our lives as moms and give examples of good places to find that support.  I share a number of simple and practical approaches throughout the book.  The book is written with a spirit of hope, encouraging moms that they can survive and even thrive through this stage of motherhood.  I wish I could sit face to face with each of the readers, hearing their story of motherhood.  Short of that, this book is my way of sitting down and sharing friend to friend.

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