Today I’m going to tell you about a book that you absolutely NEED to have on your bookshelf if you have a teenager in your house – Be Happy Be You!
Be Happy Be You is a book that teaches your teen to understand the importance of being happy, which we all know isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to achieve for a level headed adult, never mind a teenager with dealing with all of the inevitable dramas of being a teen.
The book is described as being a ‘positive and insightful guide for teenagers giving them the tools they need to build confidence, eliminate negative feelings and boost happiness in all areas of life’.
In reality, what that means is that it’s a book that addresses a lot of the important issues that your teenager could potentially encounter with ways to cope with each scenario and explaining the science of how and why these ideas will work to help.
I read the book as soon as it came (thanks ladies for sending me a copy) and it’s exactly the sort of book that I want my children to read. I think I have a great relationship with both of my children and they’re always very open with me but… I’m realistic and I know that they’re teenagers and that means that they’re going to come across issues that they might not be comfortable discussing with me or issues that I might need some support in explaining and helping them with.
The issues are discussed in a language that teenagers can relate to, packed with information without being over complicated or talking down to them. I have a feeling it’s going to be used quite a bit and I’m actually tempted to buy another copy so they both have one.
The book is packed full of practical advice but one of my favourite sections in the book was about finding your happy place because that’s something that I know helps me personally and I’d love for the kids to have somewhere that relaxes and calms them as I have.
My happy place is anywhere by the sea!
I could quite happily sit in my car watching the waves roll in for hours and it always makes me feel calm and happy. I think it’s the constant motion of the waves that calms me as I concentrate on watching them crash over the sand – focusing on that just clears my head.
I’d love for the kids to have a connection with somewhere like that.
Another section that I’m a huge fan of is the Anxiety tool kit which I think is essential for everyone, especially teenagers who are battling their way through the constant pressure that they’re under from all directions.
The science of explaining why teenagers feel anxious is brilliant as it makes it clear that it happens to lots of people and it’s nothing out of the ordinary. The coping and distraction mechanisms are brilliant too and helping teens to recognise what anxiety is and how they can deal with feeling that way is just brilliant.
I’ll be honest though, if I gave my two this book and told them that I wanted them to read it then I’d have no chance at all as they’re just not book people – no matter how hard I’ve tried over the years. So instead of even mentioning the book to them, I decided to just leave it on the dining room table and hope for the best.
As I expected, the bright cover attracted them like magpies and over the course of a couple of days, I found both of them reading it at one point and it’s now disappeared so one of them has taken it upstairs to read in their own room so it looks like that’s being read now as we speak.
If you want to buy your own copy of this book, you can get it on Amazon here.
Don’t just take my word for how amazing this book is though, there are a few of other bloggers who are sharing their own thoughts about the book over the next week too as Becky and Penny have organised a bit of a bloggy book tour:
9th January Boo Roo and Tigger Too
10th January A Mummy Too
11 January Who’s the Mummy
12th January Emma and 3
14th January Little LilyPad
15th January Growing Family
16th January Steph’s two girls
17th January Actually Mummy
18th January Mummy from the heart
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