If you’re a parent who’s unsure how much tech is “too much,” or how to set boundaries that both feel fair and actually stick, Twenge’s “rules” give you a starting point. It’s not a perfect manual (because no such thing exists for all families), but it helps shift from reactive (“You’re on your phone too much!”) to proactive (establishing guidelines, modeling behavior, thinking through what values you want tech to support rather than sabotage).

Dr. Bolton explores how modern societal structures—families, schools, and communities—can either contribute to or alleviate the growing crisis of disconnection among youth. He argues that resilience is cultivated through strong relationships, purposeful engagement, and intentional support systems. The book provides practical strategies for adults to help children develop emotional strength, adaptability, and a sense of belonging. This book is ideal for parents, educators, counselors, and community leaders who want to foster resilience, emotional well-being, and meaningful connections in children and adolescents. It’s especially relevant in today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world where many young people struggle with anxiety, disconnection, and lack of purpose.

This excellent book, based on attachment theory and neuroscience, explains in clear and logical terms how showing up and being present with your children is the key to their future resilience, happiness, and success. Their message to parents and caregivers is straightforward and heartfelt: “You’re doing fine. You’re showing up. That’s what matters. You don’t have to be perfect; you can’t be. We are all lifelong learners. Just be there for your kids. Love them. Use discipline moments as opportunities to teach and build skills. Model kindness, respect, and self-care. Apologize when you miss an opportunity to connect or you mess up in other ways. They don’t need every advantage, and they don’t need a super-parent. They just need you–authentic, flawed, and fully present you.”

I really like the way this author takes aim at the cultural issues around being a perfect parent and the lack of grace shown to both parents and children when mistakes are made and how this sets up all kids, but especially anxious ones, for failure by shaming and blaming them for displaying signs of their anxiety.

As a high school educator, I have always believed in helping my students achieve a sense of self-efficacy. Many times, however, students do not hear this message at home. Lythcott-Haims presents the importance of this idea, of having the belief in your abilities to complete a task, reach goals, and manage situations. The quote that stood out to me was when she said kids need to “believe in their abilities, not in their parents’ abilities to help them do things.” Parents need to let go, especially when their teen hits high school. This chapter attempts to get parents to do just that.

Haidt used truths from social psychology and updated research to remind me that, “All children are by nature anti-fragile. Just as the immune system must be exposed to germs and trees must be exposed to wind, children require exposure to setbacks, failures, shocks, and stumbles in order to develop strength and self-resilience.” He then outlined (in a pragmatic and totally user-friendly way) how the increase in smart phones and social media have made childhood/adolescence especially difficult (a) for our kids, and (b) for us to navigate as parents. Unlike many other books that I’ve read on the challenges of parenting, Haidt’s book left me with hope, optimism, and action plans that have already propelled me into vulnerable, challenging, and empowering conversations with friends who are on this crazy parenting journey alongside me.

Offers a sobering yet hopeful perspective on what kids really need to thrive. Provides practical applications based on solid data as well as assessment tools parents can use for all ages.

I believe Dr. Becky is deserving of the hype! Good Inside is a parenting discussion and manual that aims to help parents create sustainable behavioral changes in their children while building positive relationships with them. Most parenting advice sees behavior as a problem that needs to be controlled through time outs, chore charts, etc – Dr Becky argues that these strategies jeopardize the positive connection between parents and kids and don’t work in the long term anyway. She stresses that you and your child are good people, even if you are struggling. Good Inside prioritizes connection, boundaries, and leading with confidence.

This book has practical and realistic ideas about effectively communicating with our kids but reads easily and doesn’t feel like a guide book. The authors include personal anecdotes about nurturing bonds with our kids and truly connecting with them while allowing them to build resilience and confidence. There are tons of suggestions and actual words to use with our kids when learning to communicate with them effectively to build motivation. And all of the tips and tricks are based in developmental science which the authors lay out in easily understandable terms. This is a very helpful book and a very good one to have on the shelf.

The premise of this book is simple – the best way to help our kids deal with stress is to give them more control over their own lives. But the authors are not simplistic in their approach, which is thoughtful, realistic and nuanced. I found a discussion about how to proceed after a child has made a bad decision (drinking too much) to be especially balanced and reasonable.

This book explains how brain development impacts children’s behavior and provides strategies to integrate their emotional and logical sides. It’s ideal for parents and educators. The “Name It to Tame It” strategy teaches kids to label their emotions, helping them gain control over their feelings.

This book is for parents and caregivers looking to reduce conflict and foster cooperation. It reframes discipline as an opportunity to teach and connect rather than punish. For example, the concept of “Connect and Redirect” emphasizes acknowledging a child’s feelings before guiding them toward better behavior.

This book outlines critical conversations parents should have with their kids before high school to prepare them for challenges like friendships, boundaries, and mental health. It’s for parents of tweens and young teens. The “Middle School Talk” about balancing social pressures while staying true to oneself is an excellent way to equip kids for peer dynamics.

This book encourages parents to let kids fail and guides them through the aftermath to build confidence and problem-solving skills. It discusses how struggles like failure and conflict can teach resilience and set kids up for future success. It’s for parents seeking to reframe setbacks as growth opportunities.

A very concise discussion of emotional intelligence and how to deal with negative emotions in problematic or challenging situations. The author offers numerous simple and actionable suggestions as well as straightforward coaching. Especially interesting were tips about how to interpret body language as evidence of de-escalation, and how to respond to silence in a conversation, which could be particularly helpful when communicating with a teen.

A good explanation of depression and how it differs from just feeling sad. Does a great job of acknowledging all the sucks of depression and confirms that you can have a full and wonderful life and live with depression. Includes many good analogies as frames for your own brain but also (and perhaps more importantly) a way to explain what’s happening to people who have never experienced depression. “Depression is like a weird energy-sucking flu that sometimes give you Crazy Thoughts.” (p24). The book is a guide for how to build your toolbox to handle your depression and includes lots of helpful ideas and explains how to put them into practice.

I love the author’s non-judgmental tone and his explanations for why we often fail when we try to change our habits. His premise about changing our behavior is appealing and logical. He offers many specific helpful ideas and suggestions. I think a reader who follows the program could have good success using this model.

I read this book with my daughter and she was engaged almost immediately. The book openly and clearly addresses what anxiety feels like for tweens and teens and gives concrete strategies for combatting negative and worrying thoughts. It is honest about the fact that making changes for the better can be difficult and uncomfortable, but that they are worth it in the end. Learning to “talk back” to anxious thoughts and also to “observe and then let go” of worries or unhelpful thoughts were two strategies she learned (my quotes, not the book’s).

This is a new edition that specifically addresses social media, bullying, and suicide and how being constantly overloaded with information necessitates a strategy for kids to redirect negative thoughts when they come up. The Negativity and Suicide, When to Seek Help chapter was es[ecially informative;and the feelings chart on page 98 is clear and easy to follow

The book is divided into short chapters, each of which deals with a different social situation (How to meet and greet, how to deal with hard situations, how to be supportive, etc.) And the chapters are further subdivided into very short “how to” lessons covering all kinds of social situations, from how to talk to someone you don’t know well, how to deal with someone who takes advantage of you, how to listen in different types of situations. As a parent, I read a lot of good information that would be helpful to kids who aren’t super socially adept (and some who are) in understanding how to engage with other kids, even in simple ways. While some of the examples/strategies might not work for everyone, there is enough here that I think many kids would find something useful.

Exercises included, journal opportunities, easy resource to follow, not overwhelming at all, you can pick it up, read a little, put it away – don’t have to read the entire book at once

This book unpacks the seven developmental stages of adolescent girls, offering parents a roadmap to understand and support their daughters (but can be applicable to any teen). The explanation of how teens pull away from parents not out of rejection, but as a developmental milestone, helps parents approach independence with less fear.

This book explores the emotional ups and downs of adolescence, offering parents tools to support their teens through stress, anxiety, and other emotions. They emphasize normalizing teen emotions rather than fixing them, such as saying, “I can see this is hard for you,” to create a safe space for expression.

I appreciated the book’s breakdown of various elements of executive function and benefited from the presentation of actionable ways I can support my child’s executive function and step back from acting “as his frontal lobe.” I also liked the examples of lower-risk opportunities for developing a teen’s executive function. These examples were especially helpful because teens were not discussed in a one-size-fits-all manner. (In fact, Chapter 2 helpfully broke down five common teen responses to executive-function struggles and they were addressed throughout the book.) Additionally, the authors did a nice job of encouraging parental empathy, self-reflection, and co-regulation without judgment. In sum, the book is based on an uplifting premise—that carefully-constructed executive-function practice events build neural pathways—which left this reader motivated to help her child with executive function.

While not a parenting book, per se, this book is an invaluable read for anyone who struggles with an eating disorder OR is parenting a child who is. The narrative of this book, written in the first person, is extremely compelling. The writer also gives a voice to Ed (anorexia) and the interplay gives one a really good view into the intricacies and power of an eating disorder. Ed DOES scream, lie and make rules inside one’s head. And, he’s stubborn and very strong. The chapters are short and the author gives a lot of personal examples from her own Ed journey and recovery.

Interesting format – this is a book created from the collective wisdom and experiences of many families over time. Information includes the practical (understanding the types of therapists and eating disorder mental health professionals) to the emotional (finding your own strength and what to try when you feel overwhelmed). Filled with anonymous personal accounts from the perspective of caregivers, siblings, and people living with eating disorders, this book offers honest and hopeful support and guidance for anyone facing the challenges of an eating disorder.