Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
Parenting by Text: Managing Conflict with Teens through the Fine Art of Texting by Mike Lund is a book that every parent should read because the parenting landscape changes, and it does so very quickly. It also changes because the language that contemporary teens speak is complex and it evolves with the changes happening around them, including social media, technology, and a lot more.
The author cites examples that many parents, including me, have experienced - the startling realization that we can get disconnected from our children because we don’t understand or speak the language they speak: “After experiencing a few years of wince inducing interactions with my teenagers, I felt there had to be something different I could do. After all, the hoping, praying, and talking we were doing didn’t seem to have any effect.”
In this book, the author shows readers how to use the one tool that children nowadays are addicted to - texting. It is no longer enough to know the physiological and psychological changes that teenagers experience as they struggle to grow up. This book helps readers understand the new rules that influence the evolution of their children, how social media affects the way they relate to themselves and others, and how to stay connected with them and have the parental influence they deserve without coming across as intruding, overbearing, and domineering.
Mike Lund addresses some of the questions that parents struggle with and makes a continual connection with their children possible. There are so many eye-opening and ah-ha moments of revelation in this book.
Parenting by Text offers an effective approach to parenting in a world of sophisticated culture and technology, and I enjoyed some of the sample texts and lines, together with the scenarios, the author shares. Mike Lund brings to readers his and his wife’s experience in parenting and provides insights and advice that will change the way we handle children, and he does so in a style that is accessible and in a voice that is captivating.
