Zzz Tackling Tough Topics

by Diana R. Jenkins

Are you on the offense and are your older kids younger teens on the defense when it comes to talking about tough topics? Then kickoff with Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction! Older kids/young teens face many challenges before they reach adulthood. In the midst of temptation, peer pressure, media influences, and bodily changes, faith is often intercepted, throwing Catholic principles to the sidelines. As parents or teachers or youth ministers, it can be hard to get your kids back into the game, especially at that age in which it’s not easy to broach faith-challenging issues without having them run off the field. Operating from this perspective, Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction puts you and your 11–14 year olds (grades 6–8) on the same team. Doctrinally-sound, non-preachy, and engaging, this faith-based resource opens up the playing field to tackle tough topics, together. Fictional stories about contemporary teens are used as a vehicle to show the value of faith in difficult times and sensitive situations. Each chapter—the content of which can be assessed based on your students’ levels of maturity and need—focuses on a real life challenge to the faith as experienced by a fictional character. The ten topics explored in this book - Pornography - Cyberbullying - Modesty - Family - Materialism/Consumerism - Dishonesty - Body Image - Substance Abuse - Stress to Overachieve - Depression

Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

After twenty years as a special education teacher, Diana R. Jenkins became a freelance writer. She has written more than four hundred stories, comic strips, and articles for children and teens, as well as two earlier books of readers theater plays. Diana lives in Jeffersonville, Indiana, with her husband, a retired physicist.

Reviews

[Sherry Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not always easy to initiate discussions about substance abuse, cyber bullying, and internet pornography with kids. Tackling Tough Topics is a great book to read to get things started. The topics covered are all relevant to today's kids: Internet pornography, cyber bullying, modesty, family, materialism, dishonesty, body image, success, depression and substance abuse.

Each chapter begins with facts related to the topic, a relevant scriptural passage, and the Catholic church's catechism, or teaching, on the matter. This is followed by a short, fictional story which illustrates the issue. Each chapter ends with discussion questions, which parents can talk about with their kids, and a "message" section with practical ideas for how to handle problems associated with the topic.

Tackling Tough Topics, while told from a Catholic/Christian perspective, is a good book for any faith or religion. It is well-written and entertaining. I highly recommend it for any parent or teacher wishing to teach good character regarding these sensitive issues, and for anybody struggling with these topics.

[Krysten Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for parents & teachers. The book deals with topics such as social media/cyberbullies, substance abuse, self-esteem/image, modesty, pornography and other things that parents and teacher find difficult to discuss on their own. Each chapter also has a story that goes along with it and what I loved about the stories was that each one was so relatable. The stories were entertaining and would hold a teen's interest and never got preachy. So often resources tend to have a lecturing tone, but Jenkins knows how to relate to her teen audience and never talks down to them or gets preachy. She posed examples about why one should dress modestly in a way that would speak to teens--that's no easy thing to do in this day and age. Wonderful book to use in the classroom or with your own kids. This is definitely a resource you need to handle those tough topics with the teens in your life.

[Nancy Parish · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction, Diana Jenkins presents real world scenarios in an engaging manner that is never pedantic or condescending. Topics such as cyberbullying, body image, dishonesty, substance abuse and depression are problems that teens today often struggle with on a daily basis.

Jenkins provides each topic in a story which teens will find interesting and relatable. Following each scenario is a series of questions which encourage the reader to think about handling these issues in their own lives. Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction would make a great resource for teachers, youth group leaders or anyone who interacts with teens of all faiths.

[Keila Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction is a resource recommended for teachers and parents dealing with teens. My own teens attended Catholic school and could have used some of Jenkins' witty guidance during discussions involving the difficult topics she addresses such as cyber bullying, materialism, body image, success, depression, substance abuse and more. Whether teens have personal experience with these topics, have friends that do, or hear about them in their community, this book helps prepare adults to tackle these tough topics.

And it doesn't matter your religion or faith or beliefs because dealing in today's world demands building good character.

[Kerrie Hollihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Diana R. Jenkin's writing for kids and teens. This book is slightly different than others she has written because it's more discussion-type material. That said, it's a wonderful launch pad for teens and their adult leaders to get some good conversations going about truly difficult issues that confront our young people. Jenkins' stories are filled with wisdom AND wit. This publication is directed at Roman Catholic kids and their adult leaders, but that wouldn't stop me, a United Methodist, from using it with my teens, too!b v

[Juliana Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful resource for parents and teachers of teens as well as the teens themselves. Ten chapters, each focusing on one challenge facing teens today, include topics ranging from cyber-bullying and substance abuse to modesty and body image. Each chapter begins with facts and statistics then moves to scripture related to the topic being addressed. (The scripture and catechism are written from a Catholic perspective, but fit into many other christian and non-christian dogmas.) Short fictional stories address the problems faced by teens and the discussion questions are great springboards into personal journaling, open dialogue, or classroom lessons.