Tough Guys and Drama Queens by Mark Gregston

I can remember when I was in my teen years and on weekdays it was time to get ready for school.  My mom would come into my room and turn on the lights and open the windows to let the light in.  It would always disturb me enough to wake me up.  That is the same kind of feeling that I got in reading the book “Tough Guys and Drama Queens” by Mark Gregston.

As a parent with a son on the verge of coming into the ‘Tween years, I read this book at just the right time.  It should serve as a wake-up call to all parents.  The thinking of young people and how the culture teaches them to think has changed.  It really is our responsibility of us as parents to lead our kids, and teach them… not try to be their friend too.

Gregston creates an analogy about a young person learning to play baseball.  They stand at the plate with their bat in hand over their shoulder.  One would expect the first pitch to be something mild, and controlled… something experience appropriate.  Instead the first pitch consists of several baseballs flying at their head.  The young person is left swinging desperately at the targets, and is left confused and frustrated. 

The book draws on several stories of young people from Gregston’s experience as a counsellor and focuses on some key areas.  They are (1) What’s So Different About Today’s Culture?  (2) Parenting Practices to Avoid (3) Parenting Practices That Really Work.

In the first section Gregston goes through some of the major differences that he has observed.  He talks about how there is an overexposure to everything, how young people have increased communication, but are more disconnected than ever.  He also discusses their changing world from divorced parents, and shifts in relationships, and how this lack of stability can impact them in their development.

Section two focuses on some of the things that parents may do to try to force their young person into doing the right thing, while Section three focuses on an offshoot from earlier in the book.  Parents need to help their young person begin to make decisions that are correct, but help them get there with their own reasoning.  

This was such a great book, and really should be part of a training manual for parents. 

I was provided a copy for review by BookSneeze.  I was free to review the book as I saw it.