The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers by Gary Chapman

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I do not usually read any kinds of self-help or parenting books. However, I do have a twelve-year old and in the past few months I was thinking that I should probably educate myself a bit more on the upcoming teen years. Thus my purpose for reading this book was to prepare and educate myself so I can be a better parent as my daughter starts navigating the troublesome teenage years.

If you are like me (i.e., have a pre-teen or a teen and do not normally read parenting literature), I definitely recommend this book. Some of the criticisms I've seen about this book are that it is a regurgitation of Chapman's other 5 Languages of Love books or that it does not provide any earth-shattering advice. I had never read any of his other books, and I also was not looking for any parenting tricks or magic methods. But for me, this was a great concise guide on how to be a parent of a teenager.

What I liked most is that Chapman clearly lays out the approaches that will allow parents to understand their teen better, to show their teenagers that they are loved and to learn how to effectively set rules and discipline their teenagers. Nothing in the book was confusing or impractical. All of his recommendations were cogent, to the point, very doable and supported by multiple examples from his counseling practice. I also appreciated the statistics quoted in this book and the fact that he did not shy away from difficult subjects such as alcohol and drug use and teen pregnancy. I would say Chapman wrote this book in a very loving manner to both parents and teens, without sounding preachy or condemning anyone but offering practical steps to foster better relationships.

I am very glad I read this book. If you are going to read just one book on parenting teens, please read this one. 5 out of 5 stars from me!