Adolescent Psychology and Development: The Adolescent Owner’s Guide

Today more than ever before, parents are finding it harder and harder to understand teenagers and help them find their way through those awkward adolescent years. Fortunately, the Web is an excellent source of information and resources on the parenting of teens. There are many sites offering useful information such as free newsletters, practical parenting tips and ideas, prevention information, and articles on timely and relevant teen topics such as drugs, stepfamilies, body image, peer pressure, and depression.

Hotlines, discussion groups, and chat forums can provide an opportunity for parents to discuss their problem teens with other parents going through the same experiences, or with professional or volunteer counselors. Many parenting web sites present categorized links to other sites for further information, provide extensive search utilities for finding resources on a particular topic, or allow visitors to sign up for e-mail updates or news. With a growing number of teens making self-destructive choices, many parents are both worried and scared. For these parents, there are web sites specifically devoted to providing support for a teen in trouble, offering information about substance abuse, teen pregnancy, runaways, eating disorders, criminal behavior, and suicide.

Others cover a broader range of topics related to teens, offering items for purchase such as books, videos, and workshop or seminar packages. Many sites are arranged like giant newspapers, with featured columns, book reviews, and regularly updated parenting tips. For visitors dealing with specific problems, there are sites that encourage the submission of questions, which they either answer personally or select from to publish the answer to a question of the week. Parents need not feel like they are alone in their journey through adolescence with their teenagers; the Web offers a plethora of resources to give them just what they need to survive the journey.