Planet Middle School: Helping Your Child through the Peer Pressure, Awkward Moments & Emotional Drama

by Kevin Leman

Overview

It happens to every parent. One day, you have a sweet son or daughter who loves to snuggle on the couch and who puts a smile on your face just by walking into the room. The next day, it's as if someone left the door open and let in an alien with a smart mouth and an attitude that, frankly, you could do without. Entering middle school is like stepping onto a different planet—for parent and child alike. It's a planet where peer pressure, social media, and hormones can wreak havoc in your child's life and in your relationship with him or her.

But these years don't have to create chaos in your family. Parenting expert and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Kevin Leman's time-tested principles will aid parents in helping their middle schooler not only survive but thrive during these turbulent years on Planet Middle School. He shows parents how to

- understand their child's rapidly expanding world
- respond rather than react to emotional swings
- tell their child about sex (before someone else tells them their version)
- create opportunities for their child to practice selflessness and gratitude
- ensure that their kid is one who loves home and family

Middle schoolers can be a weird, unpredictable species. But with a little help from Dr. Leman, parents will be able to ride out the interstellar storm with humor and confidence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780800727949
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/16/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	912,335
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dr. Kevin Leman is an internationally known psychologist, radio and television personality, and speaker who has taught and entertained audiences worldwide with his wit and commonsense psychology. He has made house calls through hundreds of radio and television programs, such as FOX & Friends, The View, TODAY, Dr. Bill Bennett's Morning in America, CBS's The Early Show, The 700 Club, and CNN. A New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, Dr. Leman has written more than fifty books about marriage and family issues, including The Birth Order Book, Making Children Mind without Losing Yours, and Have a New Kid by Friday. Dr. Leman and his wife, Sande, live in Tucson, Arizona. They have five children and four grandchildren.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 13

Introduction: You've Just Arrived on Planet Middle School 15

They're up, they're down, they're floating in the stratosphere. But you can make these weird rears the best and most fun age of all.

1 Creature from the Black Lagoon 19

There's a new creature in your family room … that used to be your kid. Why your home and relationship can sometimes feel like a sci-fi flick, and what you can do to ease the transition.

2 Their Expanding Universe 32

What you need to know, and why you need to be along for the ride.

3 All Flared Up! 48

Why solar-flare emotions are an everyday drama, and what you can do to weather the sudden flashes of brightness.

4 Survival of the Fittest 60

Why your child will do almost anything to fit in, and what you can do to combat the intensity of peer pressure.

5 Walking on Polar Ice 76

All middle-schoolers are at risk, but some more than others. How to identify and help the ones who need it.

6 Confronting the Black Hole: Technology at Warp Speed 98

What you have to know to travel alongside and safeguard your kids.

7 Growing Up Way Too Fast 119

Why the ABCs-acceptance, belonging, and competence-are critical to keeping you and your child in the same stratosphere.

8 Becoming a (Gulp) Man/Woman 136

What you and your middle-schooler need to know about hormones and his or her changing body.

9 Blue Chip or Penny Stocks? 152

Talking to your kids about sex-and respecting themselves and others.

10 Understanding Who Your Kid Really Is 171

… And how he or she got to be that way.

11 How to Talk So They'll Listen 188

… And how to know when to shut up.

12 Expect the Best, Get the Best 206

Why training your kids, believing in them, and having positive expectations are power plays in the game of parental poker.

13 Raising a "Home" Boy/Girl 227

Your kids will belong somewhere. Why not make it your home?

14 Life-Mapping 241

It's never too early to plan your child's future, but you shouldn't be the one in the driver's seat.

15 Creating an Attitude of Gratitude 266

Why modeling and teaching this single character quality within the home is so critical.

16 Raising a Giver in a Gimme Generation 284

How giving without receiving can transform your child's world … and his or her life.

A Word of Encouragement 295

Conclusion 297

I guarantee you'll miss these days … someday.

A Middle-Schooler's 10 Commandments to Parents 301

Notes 303

About Dr. Kevin Leman 305

Resources Dr. Kevin Leman 307

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/01/2015
Psychologist and media-circuit regular Leman gives parents a peek into the mind and concerns of the average middle schooler, along with some sound advice for navigating these rocky waters. He describes these "expanding universe years" as a time when "your child will do almost anything to fit in." Likening a preteen to an astronaut floating in deep space who needs a lifeline to the person he trusts most, the author advises parents to be predictable, help kids discover what they're good at, focus on their relationship, and listen to their hearts. In Leman's sure hands, no-brainers such as, "You can set up all the rules you want, but without a relationship, they will all come to naught," will give parents appropriate pause before handing over a smartphone, which Leman says is similar to a loaded gun. VERDICT Middle schoolers are definitely their own flavor of crazy, but Leman provides both the hope and long-term viewpoint for helping parents settle into a nurturing internal space. For all parenting collections.

Library Journal