Please welcome my guest author, Jonathan Cristall, a prosecutor for the City of Los Angeles. My sister and brother-in-law know him. His book taps into his knowledge of the law with teenagers. My sister says it is a Must-Read for parents of teenagers, especially if your child is DRIVING. His tips will help keep them safe!
We are giving away three copies of What They Don’t Teach Teens. Please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.
What They Don’t Teach Teens: Life Safety Skills for Teens and the Adults Who Care for Them by Jonathan Cristall
Easy to read and comprehensive on topics of safety, Cristall’s volume is an informative read for teens and their parents, but may also prove to be a helpful text for a high-school level health class. (Library Journal)
What They Don’t Teach Teens gives sound advice on police interactions and personal safety (your constitutional rights, what to do/not do when stopped by the police while driving, situational awareness, street robberies, gun violence); sexual violence and misconduct (sexual consent, sexual harassment prevention, dating violence, sextortion); and staying safer online (digital footprint and citizenship, cyberbullying, underage sexting, online porn).
A must-read for all families, What They Don’t Teach Teens is filled with practical guidance, thoughtful insight, and simple-to-use tips and tactics that will empower young people to make good choices now and into the future.
7 Teen Parenting Books
Can I Kiss You: A Thought-Provoking Look at Relationships, Intimacy & Sexual Assault by Michael J. Domitrz
Understanding what sexual consent is and is not, is incredibly important for young people to completely understand. This book keeps things simple as it relates to affirmative sexual consent (asking before and during an encounter to ensure that there’s enthusiasm for the sexual activity) and what a healthy intimate relationship looks and feels like.
The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin de Becker
This is one of the most important books on personal safety. de Becker explains the importance of relying on our intuition to keep ourselves safer. With our kids transitioning out of our homes and from our care, this book has wonderful information to help keep them safer wherever their life travels take them.
Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World by Devorah Heitner
Understandably, there is much focus on the negative aspects of too much screen time and social media. In this book, Heitner draws attention to some of the positive things that can be brought to bear when young people have balance in their lives and how parents can help their kids find that balance between screen time and functioning in the real world. There is a “tech-positive” approach here that I find encouraging.
When Dating Becomes Dangerous: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Relationship Abuse by Barrie Levy and Patricia Giggans
Teen dating violence—which includes far more than just physical violence—is widespread and can often fly under the radar of parents. In this work, the authors explain the different forms of violence that can exist in young relationships and some of the red flags of abuse. Also, it’s also worth noting, as the authors do, that young men can be abused in relationships too.
American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers by Nancy Jo Sales
One can only imagine what it’s like for girls growing up today in a world that revolves, to a large extent, in and around social media. Sales gives an in-depth look at the pressures, fears, and concerns of the young women who are trying to navigate that reality and all that entails. Reading some of these girls’ experiences was harrowing at times, but is an important reality check for us as parents.
Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood by William Pollack and Mary Pipher
While one of the older books on this list, I love the approach these authors take to address the many issues that boys are facing when it comes to how our culture defines masculinity. Not only is the book well researched, but ideas are shared about how to have important conversations with our sons about their journey into manhood.
Words Wound: Delete Cyberbullying and Make Kindness Go Viral by Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja
Patchin and Hinduja and two of the leading researchers on cyberbullying and it shows in this book. The acts that can amount to cyberbullying are explained and why/how those acts can be so traumatic on the target. The book focuses on the ways that young people can not only stay safer from cyberbullying, but also the things they can do if they are targeted, and how they can create a school environment where cyberbullying is not tolerated.
3 Book Giveaway of What They Don’t Teach Teens
We are giving away three copies of What They Don’t Teach Teens. Please enter using the Rafflecopter below. We can only ship to U.S. and A.F.O. addresses.
Jonathan Cristall, Esq., the author of What They Don’t Teach Teens, spent his own teen years taking unnecessary risks and getting into avoidable trouble. Now a veteran prosecutor for the City of Los Angeles, he went from disregarding laws to enforcing them. Cristall, a certified sexual violence prevention instructor, works extensively with teenagers and their families to teach physical, digital, emotional, and legal life safety skills. More info at WTDTT.com. He can be found on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @teachourteens.
To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Parenting Village on Pinterest.
My books:
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Some of my pressing concerns for teenagers is how to combat their everyday stress, and how to encourage more self-esteem and confidence for them. With everything on social media and entertainment, how can I stop the desensitization toward violence and sex? I also feel they are starting to disrespect and have trust issues, any advice for that?
How do i get on their emotional level and help rationalize things in the world gor them
My most pressing concern is about friendships and relationships in the age social media, COVID, racial violence, and charter schools.