LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF RELIGION
Reading Report 2: Raising Adults: Getting Kids Ready for the Real World
Submitted to Dr. Steve Vandegriff
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
YOUT 301 – B02
Foundations in Youth Ministry
by
Smith
Introduction
This 262-page book seems to be a very good source to use when it comes to parenting kids between the ages of 10 and 18. It is a book about the world of teens; a world created by adults. Adults created the toxic world we live in, not our teens. Our teens did not create the porn industry or the drug industry nor do they control it. Hancock encourages parents to evaluate their life and to talk to their teens about the difficulties of life. He advises to do nothing and see how dong nothing changes for the better the parent/teen relationship. He tests expectations and generates common ground to allow parents to train their children to accept responsibility and gain an adult view on life.
Summary
Raising Adults has a thirty-day guarantee that parents can change their relationship with their child by doing “nothing”, in essence, by not practicing certain toxic behaviors over thirty days. Hancock says, “I guarantee that if you do nothing for the next 30 days, things will get better between you and your kid; if the nothing you do is what we’re about to cover. Seriously, some adult behaviors are so toxic, nothing is way better than something. I promise things will be much better if you commit yourself do nothing about.” (Hancock 1999, 58) Hancock also talks about ten distinctives he believes ring true for youth in today’s culture including a sense of isolation, anger, and hopelessness. Hancock’s style of writing is very laid back and on the level where our teens can relate. Hancock’s thirty-day “do nothing” plan involves stopping six negative things and replacing them with six positive ones.
The first negative to positive is Hijacking to Explore....