Raising your parents

When Sarah Burningham was 16, she came home after curfew -– again. When she went to talk to her parents, she noticed a book by their bed about raising ethical teenagers. A light went on: "Wait! You have a book? I don’t have a book."

An idea was born, and it led to her book, "How to Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl’s Survival Guide" (Chronicle Books).

Through questionnaires and interviews with thousands of teenagers, Burningham, now 28, came up with a funny and practical guide for negotiating the minefield of parent-teen life. Among the issues she tackles are tattoos, dating and driving -– all with an effort to explain why parents behave the way they do.

No surprise that technological advances are a major change for this generation of teenagers.

"It’s so important that teenagers take responsibility and educate their parents," Burningham said in an interview Friday. And it’s important that parents get to know MySpace, for example, before they say no to a teen’s request for a profile.

Burningham also said she believes that teenagers today are under more pressure to succeed and achieve than those who came before them. "You have to build your resume before you graduate from high school."

"We’re expecting these teenagers to be adults, and we haven’t given them life experience. We haven’t even given them the chance to be teenagers," she said.

There are less serious moments too. Among the 10 "Favorite Parent-Friendly Albums That Are Still Cool Enough for You," she includes "Electric Ladyland" by Jimi Hendrix and anything by U2.

-- Mary MacVean

-- Illustration courtesy Chronicle Books

Comments

[Briandizzle]

SO DOES IT REALLY WORK? WHAT IF SOMEONE'S PARENTS ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE AUTHOR'S? WELL I SAY SOMEONE WRITES ONE FOR THE GUYS AND ILL GIVE IT A TEST DRIVE.