How to Decode Their Behavior, Develop Unshakable Trust, and Raise a Respectable Adult.
A practical guide to understanding teens, from bestselling author and youth advocate Josh Shipp.
Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child found that every kid who succeeds in the face of adversity has had at least one committed relationship with a supportive adult.
But Josh Shipp didn’t need Harvard to understand that.
Once an at-risk foster kid, he was facing down a bleak future that was likely to include prison or homelessness—until he met the grown-up who changed his life. Enter Rodney, the foster parent who refused to quit on Shipp and finally got him to believe in himself.
Now, in The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans, Shipp shows us how to be that sort of caring adult in a teenager’s life. Stressing the need for mutual respect, trust, and encouragement, he identifies three key mindsets crucial to understanding teens. He breaks down the distinct phases of teenage life, examining the challenges at each phase, and offers revelatory stories that take us deep inside the teen brain.
Shipp shares field-tested, game-changing strategies from top professionals and provides word-for-word scripts that troubleshoot over twenty common teen challenges, including:
Responsibility
When my teen messes up, how can I help them take ownership?
Communication
How do I get a teen to talk to me? They just grunt.
Trust
My teen blew it. My trust is gone. Where do we go from here?
Bullying
Help! They are being harassed—online or face-to-face.
Difficult & Awkward Conversations
Drugs. Death. Sex. Oh my.
Written in Shipp’s playful but authoritative voice, The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans lays out unflinchingly practical ways to make a difference in a teen’s life. As Shipp reminds us, raising a respectable adult comes down to investing in teens and giving them the boundaries, time, and support they need to thrive.
And that means every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.
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"This book is the training manual you never got. A must-have resource for parents, teachers, or anyone else who has to deal with teens."
— Ellen Rakieten, Emmy Award-Winning Producer of OPRAH
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"The success and impact of my work originates with teachers and other caring adults who invested in me during my formative teenage years. Josh Shipp’s book arms caring adults with the principles, insights, and inspiration they need to help teens they care about succeed."
— Jack Canfield, Co-creator of The Chicken Soup for the Soul® Series
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"As both a Mom and professor, I found this parenting book to be a breath of fresh air. Josh skillfully combines heart, humor, and research-backed strategies to reclaim harmony with the teenage human in your life."
— Kimberly Allen, PhD, Department of Youth, Family, and Community Sciences at North Carolina State University
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"Research keeps telling us that committed adults make a difference in the lives of teenagers. Now, Josh Shipp tells you how to be that adult. The Grown-up’s Guide to Teenage Humans is a must-have resource for anyone who has a heart for the next generation."
— Dave Ramsey, Best-selling author and nationally syndicated radio show host
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"This book provides a deep understanding of a teenager’s needs and a practical guide for nurturing optimal development. The advice Josh shares is evidence-based, no nonsense, and uncompromising in it’s practicality. These insights will teach us how we can be that one caring adult every teen needs."
— Julie Lythcott-Haims, Author of New York Times bestseller "How to Raise an Adult"
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"Teenagers pose unique challenges for parents, teachers and caregivers. This book is an essential read, providing a unique pathway to best understand, connect with and guide us in nurturing healthy, resilient teens."
— Gene Beresin MD, MA, Executive Director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
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"This is an invaluable guide to understanding, influencing, and genuinely helping the teenager in your life. Josh offers uncompromisingly practical tips to restore trust, build mutual respect, and expertly help them navigate adolescence successfully."
— Rosalind Wiseman, New York Times best-selling author of Queen Bees and Wannabes and founder of Cultures of Dignity
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"I’ve devoted my career to helping business leaders skillfully navigate situations where the stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong. Never is that more true than when you’re a parent. Josh’s data-backed insights give parents the words to say and the mindset to embody for this crucial window of influence with our own kids."
— Joseph Grenny, Co-author of New York Times bestseller Crucial Conversations
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"An essential guide to understanding and positively influencing adolescents. This book is equal parts inspiring and genuinely helpful for every parent, youth worker, educator, or anyone involved with teens in any capacity."
— Salome Thomas-EL, Award-winning principal and author of The Immortality of Influence
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"The world needs this book. Few have the insight or ability to share life changing words like Josh does. Here he provides a look at how we can all help shape the lives of the people most important to us. He does so in typical Josh Shipp fashion: with equal parts humor and heart."
— Brad Montague, Creator of Kid President
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"As a Dad I appreciate how practical Josh’s insights are. This book provides effective and practical ways to handle even the most squirm-worthy moments of the teenage years."
— Doyin Richards, Fatherhood advocate and contributor to UPWORTHY and Parents Magazine
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"It has been said that children don’t come with a manual but after reading this book, teenagers do. Josh authentically and masterfully shares insights that will educate, empower and enlighten all parents to transform the lives of teenagers."
— Dr. Deborah L Tillman, Child Development and Parenting Educator
