The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans

The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans – Josh Shipp

Teenagers can be confusing, frustrating and sometimes downright baffling to the adults who care about them. Josh Shipp knows this from both sides. As a teenager, he was an at-risk kid in the foster care system, angry and in trouble, until a caring adult refused to give up on him. Today he is a well-known youth speaker and advocate who has spent years helping parents, teachers and mentors connect with young people.

In The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans: How to Decode Their Behavior, Develop Unshakable Trust, and Raise a Respectable Adult, Shipp shares practical, down-to-earth advice for understanding and guiding teens. His central message is that every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story.

The book is organized around the questions and challenges adults face with teenagers at different stages, from the early teen years to the transition into adulthood. Shipp offers guidance on topics such as communication, building trust, setting boundaries, handling conflict, technology and social media, peer pressure, dating, school stress, mistakes and consequences, and helping teens develop responsibility and a sense of purpose. He combines stories from his own life and from families he has worked with, along with quick tips and scripts adults can use in real conversations.

Written in a lively, humorous and encouraging style, the book is easy to read and full of ideas that can be applied immediately.

Practical and hopeful, The Grown-Up’s Guide to Teenage Humans is a valuable resource for parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, youth workers and anyone who wants to make a positive difference in a teenager’s life. It is not a substitute for professional help in serious situations.