New book from Hachette Book Group
Who Are You and What Have You Done with My Kid?
…Connect with Your Tween While They are Still Listening
Incredible, convicting and practically stated!
This book is parenting GOLD. Dr. Craig provides a wealth of insight and practical wisdom based on years of clinical as well as first hand experience. Her approach coupled with her faith make this a dynamic tool in your parenting tool kit!
This book poured from me, a calling to give parents the information and tools they need to create healthy relationships with their tween, head off problems before they happen and address them when they do. It covers why the tween years are among the most critical years developmentally for our kids then presents the wisdom found in faith teachings in combination with what we know from the fields of neuroscience and family therapy to parenting during the middle school years in a way that is accessible to the general public. It goes like this…
Since reading your book, I have become so much more mindful of how I communicate with my daughter. Before I react, I am able to pause, think about my soil, exercise patience while keeping boundaries. I am mindful of her feelings and have been working on helping her name and express her feelings.
I will also add that this book has helped me communicate better with my parents and other loved ones. Your advice can literally be applied to any close, loving relationship. -Juliana
“Fantastic book!
As a middle school teacher and parent of little kids, I love this book. As a teacher, I’ve seen the “neurological explosion” that rocks many middle school kids and this book helped me better understand some of the behaviors I’ve seen in students over the years. I wouldn’t really say my children are old enough yet to be considered “tweens” but the ideas in this book are useful even now...I learned new ways of listening/talking to my children that I am confident will help us navigate their teen years together...”
So you have a tween…
Perhaps she's 11 years old, wants to be 16 one minute and plays with her Barbies the next, explores fashion, dance and makeup tips via TikTok yet still wants you to tuck her in at night along with her lifelong stuffed bunny.
Or, he’s halfway to 13, doling out opinions largely extracted from YouTube, obsessed with his buddies, sports and bodily noises yet often close to tears and in need of a snuggle when even a minor thing doesn’t go his way.
As a parent of a tween, you’re likely on a roller coaster of emotions - confused, enamored, awed and more than a little frustrated. You’ve probably asked yourself more than once, “Who are you and what have you done with my kid?”
Raising a tween…
Raising a tween is a conundrum! They morph before our very eyes from affectionate and silly kids one minute to a mystery of contradicting behaviors the next.
One day they are cuddly, attentive and enjoyable. Another day they are unpredictable, moody and uncooperative.
They are old enough to be genuinely funny, playful, in-tune and insightful about the world around them. Yet despite the steps they are taking toward adulthood, tweens are going through a complex neurological development process which leaves everyone in the family, including them, wondering what is going on.
As a parent of a tween boy and a 5-year old girl, I know how challenging “tween-dom” can be. As a practicing Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in emotional connection for over 20 years, I bring parenting and relationship insight as well as research to help parents find clarity and connection with their tweens and each other. As a woman and parent of faith, I incorporate spiritual insights to help empower you and your family along the way.
“This book helps us parents understand how WE can help shore up our kids’ long term mental health!
Love this book and highly recommend it for parents concerned about how our relationship with our child can help counter the bombardment they experience from social media and the performance-based culture in which we they are growing up. It’s easy to read and Dr. Craig writes in an approachable, “we’re in this together” voice that I found so reassuring and empowering.”
“ Huge Help for Dads!
Dr. Craig’s easy-to-understand framework is incredibly useful for fathers as we try to understand our role in raising tweens and teens. ”
Join us for the journey…
This website is home base for Who Are You and What Have You Done with My Kid?, a community for and by parents. We will be posting new blogs regularly along with podcast episodes, “workbook” resources, suggested tools and other insights for parents of tweens. Follow me on social media @amandacraigphd or click below for emails to stay up to date.
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I invite your thoughts, feedback and questions. Reach me at hello@amandacraigphd.com.