Reality Gap: Alcohol, Drugs, and Sex—What Parents Don’t Know and Teens Aren’t Telling
Stephen Wallace
Union Square Press, August 2008, 336 pp., $19.95, www.sterlingpublishing.com
Most teens are having sex…just not mine. That’s the heart of Reality Gap, a scathing look inside the real lives of today’s teens. In terms of the statistics presented, you won’t find much to surprise you. Most teens are now drinking, experimenting with drugs and having sex.
The shocker: clueless parents who are either too authoritarian or too obsessed with being a “friend” to their kids. Wallace encourages parents—and anyone who cares about today’s teens—to engage in dialogue and ask open-ended questions. (Why do you think so many kids are drinking? vs. Isn’t it ridiculous that so many teens are drinking?)
Yes, you might have to talk about your own mistakes with drugs, alcohol and sex. You definitely have to listen more than talk. For a generation that craves authenticity, you’ll build the kind of dialogue that sets firm parental boundaries proven to help teens make positive—instead of destructive—choices.
