Toolbox Parenting: The Most Practical Guide to Raising Teenage Boys You'll Ever Read Book

Any parent who has shuddered at the thought of navigating an adolescent through the teen years will benefit from this book. Gale Dreas, a real-life Mom as well as a professional, shares her own stories, experiences and life-lessons while she and her husband navigate their two teenage boys through "typical" teenage situations including friendships, sibling rivalry, sexuality, drinking, driving, money, trouble with the police, teenage fights, parties and relationships. The author walks readers through both the parental "thinking process" as well as the "how to handle it" process for raising adolescents. Each section in this book provides a complete "short story" concerning real-life situations which the author has experienced. A "Tools Used" section concludes each story, summarizing specific and general lessons learned and suggestions for improvement. When serious problems occur, she brings the reader right along by sharing her thoughts, anxieties,confusion, fears and finally, her solutions.This practical arrangement moves readers through the chapters at a comfortable pace as each section is easily read in one sitting.The author combines humor, insight and practicality to create a rich toolbox of skills for the novice as well as the more seasoned parents of teenagers.

Gale Dreas has been a Clinical Social Worker for twenty-four years and a parent for twenty-one years. Earlier in her career, she worked for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois and specialized in the area of substance abuse/addiction. She was the Director of Outpatient Services for the Women's Residence of Lutheran Social Services and subsequently went into Private Practice, where she has been working for the past twenty years. Prior to becoming a Social Worker, she worked as a police officer where she learned how to appreciate, value andstrive for the "normal" aspects of life