Give audiobooks, support local bookstores! Start gifting
The Available Parent by John Duffy
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account
Illustration of person sitting

Shop small, give big!

With credit bundles, you choose the number of credits and your recipient picks their audiobooks—all in support of local bookstores.

Start gifting
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Nowโ€™s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, weโ€™ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today

The Available Parent

Expert Advice for Raising Successful and Resilient Teens and Tweens

$17.96

Retail price: $19.95

Discount: 9%

This title is not eligible for purchase with membership credits. Why?

Narrator David Colacci

This audiobook uses AI narration.

Weโ€™re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.

Learn more
Length 5 hours 48 minutes
Language English
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account

We have a tendency today to over-parent, micromanage, and underappreciate our adolescents. Dr. John Duffy's The Available Parent is a revolutionary approach to taking care of teens and tweens.

Teenagers are often left feeling unheard and misunderstood, and parents are left feeling bewildered by the changes in their child at adolescence and by their sudden lack of effectiveness as parents. The parent has become unavailable, the teen responds in kind, and a negative, often destructive cycle of communication begins. The available parent of a teenager is open to discussion, offering advice and solutions but not insisting on them. He allows his child to make some mistakes, setting limits, primarily where health and safety are concerned. He never lecturesโ€”he is available but not controlling. He is neither cruel nor dismissive, ever. The available parent is fun and funny and can bring levity to the most stressful situation. All of that is to say, there are no conditions to his availabilityโ€”it is absolute.

Dr. John Duffy is a clinical psychologist and certified life coach with a thriving private practice in the Chicago area. He works with both teens and adults and specializes in helping parents maximize satisfaction and minimize conflict in their relationships with their teenagers. In addition to clinical work, Dr. Duffy also consults with individuals, groups, and corporations in a number of areas, including emotional intelligence, stress management, balancing work and family, conflict resolution, goal setting, and the power of thoughts in bringing about change. His highly satisfied clients include Sears, Allstate, General Electric, Household Financial, Exxon Mobil, Accenture, Bank of America, and Hewitt Associates. The Duffy family lives in Chicago.

David Colacci is an actor and director who has directed and performed in prominent theaters nationwide. His credits include roles from Shakespeare to Albee, as well as extensive work on new plays. As a narrator, he has won numerous Earphones Awards, earned Audie Award nominations, and been included in Best Audio of the Year lists by such publications as Publishers Weekly, AudioFile magazine, and Library Journal. He was a resident actor and director with the Cleveland Play House for eight years and has been artistic director of the Hope Summer Rep Theater since 1992.

Illustration of person sitting

Shop small, give big!

With credit bundles, you choose the number of credits and your recipient picks their audiobooks—all in support of local bookstores.

Start gifting
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Nowโ€™s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, weโ€™ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today

Reviews

โ€œA healthy dose of optimism and lots of practical suggestions.โ€

โ€œEvery parent of a child or teen will benefit from keeping this wise book on their night stand. Itโ€™s likely they will want it handy to read over and over again.โ€

โ€œEvery parent who wants to give it their best shot in working with, and not in opposition to, their teen needs to check in with Dr. John Duffy and apply his โ€˜available parentโ€™ strategy.โ€

โ€œI couldnโ€™t put The Available Parent downโ€ฆJohnโ€™s a brilliant writer with keen intuition into how kids think and how parents can, sometimes unknowingly, sabotage their relationshipโ€ฆJohn relays their amazing stories of growth in smooth, witty, and helpful prose. Any parent with a childโ€”no matter what the ageโ€”should read and learn from this book.โ€

โ€œWhat a true giftโ€ฆTeens and parents are both resilient; with the tools provided in the remarkable book The Available Parent, you and your teenager can both enjoy your new and improved relationship.โ€

โ€œDr. John Duffyโ€™s fresh new concept of availability in parenting is an idea that meets the moment. With the pace of society constantly accelerating, we need The Available Parent now more than ever! Dr. Johnโ€™s writing is smart, approachable and right on the mark. His blend of practical ideas and colorful examples delivers great insights. Most importantly, I am a better parent thanks to this book.โ€

Expand reviews
Give audiobooks, support local bookstores! Start gifting