Aim High! 101 Tips for Teens

Aim High! 101 Tips for Teens is a very quick read with short (sometimes too short) tips on issues that teens confront every day. From the practical aspects of getting along, such as homework, compromise and friends to important traditional values like loyalty, forgiveness and modesty, this book helps teens take a moment to think about their actions and the consequences of their choices. If a father of a teen took this book and used one tip a day to start a conversation at the dinner table or in a car ride, relationships would improve and kids might think twice about some aspects of their lives.

Having raised five teenagers of my own (with my last one now a senior in high school), I am always on the lookout for books and other media which can help me with the challening task of being a dad to teenagers. Many of the books I have found for teens about the trials of the teenage years are a challenging read and may seem a little overwhelming for the average teen. Yes, they need goals and they need vision and they need organization skills, but they also need very practical approaches to the daily challenges and opportunities of life.

Aim High! 101 Tips for Teens is a book that hits the mark in terms of its simple approach to common daily challenges facing teenagers. Each page includes a few tips and thoughts for teens on a different topic that is at once practical and philosophical. I really liked the variety of the tips and how more serious topics like criticism and anger are interspersed with the lighter subjects of exercise, media and flexibility. And I appreciate the quick, staccato approach to these tips. Each one can be read in just a few seconds, but could certainly impact a teen's choices in that regard all day long.

The other thing I enjoyed about Aim High! is the opportunity the book offers to foster some intelligent and thoughtful dialog between a father and his teenage son or daughter. I think if a father were to take this book and select a different tip each day to discuss at meal time or on a drive home from school or to a soccer game, a great conversation could ensue and by the end of the 101st tip, you would have talked about nearly every important issue your teen faced and be ready to start again. As a checklist for parent-child communication, Aik High has great value to fathers and families.

There are certainly other books on the market (like The Teen Code or An Intimate Understanding of America's Teenagers) which have greater depth and perhaps more breadth, but for the pithy, thoughtful tip with daily application for teens, Aim High! is among the best out there.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.