A critical resource for parents to help their teens through the perplexing world of love and heartbreak. Today’s young people are beginning their love lives in a time of rapidly changing ideas and ideals about identity, commitment, sexuality, and consent. For parents, the new realities of teenage relationships can be both mystifying and daunting. In First Love: Guiding Teens through Relationships and Heartbreak, Lisa A. Phillips chronicles the challenges today’s adolescents face as they navigate crushes, dating, and breakups—and the challenges adults face as they strive to provide guidance and support. Phillips sheds light on how the relationships teens have today are different from their parents’ generation, including their reliance on technology and social media, the rise of young people identifying as LGBTQ+, high rates of depression and anxiety, and consent consciousness. She provides concrete strategies and insights from experts and teens themselves on ways parents and other adults can help young people cope with the timeless issues of love and heartbreak. Told from the perspective of a professor, mother, and award-winning journalist, First Love is a critical resource for parents, educators, mental health professionals, and others who want to understand the new realities of teen relationships—and help teens become caring, self-aware, and thriving young adults.
This book explores teens’ experiences in the maelstrom of crushes, relationships, and breakups, offering parents the information they need to navigate the complexities and challenges of their child’s first love and guidance on how best to support them on their journey through all of love’s stages.
