Fourteen (Talks) by (Age) Fourteen: The Essential Conversations You Need to Have with Your Kids Before They Start High School

In this encouraging guide, Icard (Middle School Makeover), a contributor to the Washington Post’s “On Parenting” column, helps parents navigate the strange waters of having middle school–aged children. She shares “what works best in keeping parents and kids connected,” introduces the “BRIEF” model for conversations (begin, relate, interview, echo, and provide feedback), and walks readers through conversations on 14 topics, among them criticism, reputation, and sexuality. In the chapter dedicated to technology, Icard recommends parents hold a family meeting to “create a philosophy about what role we want technology to play in the family.” The chapter on money suggests parents explain that “when an advertiser can make you feel bad enough about some part of yourself that you’ll buy their product to fix it, they make more money.” Icard convincingly builds the case for beginning to talk about crucial issues before a child turns 14: “You’ve got to start practicing ways to have balanced, thoughtful, rational conversations early and often so that skill gets cemented in your child’s brain.” Parents at a loss about how to start and maintain important conversations with their growing kids will find much of value in these strategies. Agent: Anna Sproul-Latimer, Neon Literary. (Feb.)