Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall by Anthony E. Wolf Ph.D. (1991, Paperback)

When my middle daughter was about 16, I thought she'd been taken over by space aliens. Reading Wolf's book put it perspective and made me realize how normal this craziness all was. It didn't solve all of our problems, but it gave me the ability to step back and not allow myself to get drawn into non-productive battles, and to be more at peace with some of the chaos, realizing that this wouldn't last forever. Wolf illustrates his points with many realistic parent-child dialogs, both as they typically occur, and as they might be improved (at least by the parent). I found myself laughing out loud as I encountered all-too-familiar daughter-father exchanges which seemed to have been recorded by someone eavesdropping in our house! This is a valuable, practical guide that is also humorous and a quick read. I've given copies to several of my friends to help them keep their sanity. If you're having problems with your teenager, reading this book may be the most valuable two hours you invest in parenting.

This book was recommended to me... but, it is out of print and hard to find. A MUST for every parent of a teenager.

For parents of teenagers with failing memories (those of us who see our own teen years through rose colored glasses) this is an invaluable book. It reminds us that much aberrant teen behavior is normal. It also emphasizes that normal behavior does not have to be acceptable.