The Seven-Year Stretch, The; How Families Work Together to Grow Through Adolescence

In this book, Laura Kastner, Ph.D., and Jennifer Wyatt, Ph.D., introduce us to a range of families---from thriving to struggling---and explain how their behavior patterns, past and present, affect the teenager's development. Garnered from Dr. Kastner's clinical and teaching experience, these true-to-life stories and dialogues illustrate the impact of such factors as clashing parenting styles, the temperaments of parents and children, parents' own unresolved issues, marital dynamics, and circumstances such as divorce, financial stress, and cultural differences. With optimism and creativity, the authors explain how parents can harness their family strengths to face today's challenges for adolescents. They look beyond the "shoulds," describing what different parenting approaches look like and sound like in action. Readers of the best early child-rearing texts of the times, from T. Berry Brazelton to Selma Fraiberg, will find The Seven-Year Stretch an essential guide to the passage throught the next stage---adolescence.