Hot Buttons

Title: HOT BUTTONS series

Author: Nicole O’Dell

Publisher: Kregel Publications

2012

Genre: parenting of young adults and teens

Dating edition ISBN: 978-0-8254-4240-7

Internet edition ISBN: 978-0-8254-4239-9

Drug edition ISBN: 978-0-8254-4241-4

Sexuality edition ISBN: 978-0-8254-4242-1

Nicole O’Dell is a teen expert—and she knows the challenges today’s teen’s face. In the HOT BUTTONS SERIES: Dating edition, Drug Edition, Internet edition, and Sexuality edition, she addresses these challenges and more.

The world has changed since us parents were teenagers and our teens face things that we never dreamed of. According to Ms. O’Dell, 1 out of 5 teenagers are physically abused by their boyfriends. That’s a pretty shocking statistic! And with teens having unlimited access to the internet, mostly unsupervised, considering smart phones, iPads, personal computers, and more, they can get into a world of trouble on the web.

Plus, there’s drugs—readily available anywhere. Kids know who do drugs—and where to get them. They are offered them even in small towns. And sexuality—teens struggle with purity when the school encourages sex by passing out condoms. Homosexuality is rampant. And what about revealing photos of his best friend’s girlfriend stored on his friend’s phone?

Teens face all these issues and more. We, as parents, pastors, teachers, or youth leaders need to be aware of what is going on in the world we live in and discuss this with the teens God has entrusted with us. Not only that, but the short discussion questions are good topics to discuss as a group, one on one, and definitely used as a teaching tool. Even if your child KNOWS the correct answer (in some cases, it’s pretty obvious) find out why they chose that, and to expound on the answer so it’s cemented in their heads.

Excellent series, recommended to anyone with teens or who work with youth. $9.99. 160 pages.

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Book Info

About the books:

Nicole O'Dell helps address the Hot Buttons in teens' lives before the issues become problems

From dating to drugs, modesty to purity, morals to popularity, teens face all sorts of tough issues. How teens respond to these hot-button issues can have lasting effects on who they want to be and who they actually become. What if parents can help their teens prepare for these hot buttons-before the issues become a problem?

The uniquely packaged Hot Buttons Series is an accessible, quick-reference resource that parents can use to equip their children to make the right decisions, even in the face of peer pressure and outside influences. More than just another how-to manual, Hot Button Dating Edition offers practical real-life situations that parents can read and discuss with their preteens. Topics include: physical activity, missionary dating, and violence/abuse in dating relationships.

Author, mom, and broadcaster, Nicole O'Dell provides short scenarios followed by three or four responses that a teen might choose in that particular situation. Parents are then encouraged to help their children explore the issue, ask questions, and discuss the options, so when a similar situation comes up in real life, the teens are already prepared to respond.

Hot Buttons Dating Edition offers practical real-life situations that parents can read and discuss with their preteens. Topics include: physical activity, missionary dating, and violence/abuse in dating relationships.

Hot Buttons Internet Edition helps parents prepare their teens for online challenges they may face. Topics discussed include: internet activity, file sharing, social networking, and internet predators.

Hot Buttons Drug Edition braves the scary world of substance abuse, equipping parents with facts, warning signs, and real-world scenarios on: alcohol; Marijuana and other drugs; inhalants; and prescription drugs.

Hot Buttons Sexuality Edition offers the facts about teen sexuality, backed by statistics; specifics for how to talk frankly about sex with your kids, discussion about the growth of homosexuality and bisexuality among teens; and compassionate advice for guiding your teen to reclaim purity.

Link to buy books: http://ow.ly/esojj

Meet Nicole:

Youth-culture expert, Nicole O'Dell is the host of Choose NOW Radio: Parent Talk and Teen Talk and the founder of Choose NOW Ministries, dedicated to guiding teens through tough issues and helping parents encourage good decisions.

On air, O'Dell covers peer pressure, dating, purity, drugs, alcohol, modesty, popularity, and anything else that comes up along the way. Nicole writes and speaks to preteens, teenagers, and parents about how to prepare for life's tough choices.
As an author, O'Dell writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her popular YA fiction includes the Diamond Estate Series and the Scenarios for Girls interactive books that feature alternate endings, allowing young girls to decide the outcome for the main character. Her nonfiction for teens includes Girl Talk, which she wrote with her two daughters based on their popular advice column.

While her YA resources encourage and equip teens, Nicole also works to bridge the communication gap between teens and their parents. The Hot Buttons series helps parents discuss tough issues with their tweens and teens before the issues pop up in real life. Watch for future Hot Buttons books on subjects like bullying, image, prejudice, friendships, politics, and more.
O'Dell, resides in Paxton, IL, with her husband and six children-the youngest of whom are toddler triplets.

Find out more about Nicole at http://nicoleodell.com.

Blog Tour Schedule Landing page:
http://litfusegroup.com/author/nodell

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atest Additions to Hot Button Series Prepares Parents to Discuss Difficult Topics

Nicole O’Dell helps address the Hot Buttons in teens’ lives before the issues become problems

All parents were teenagers once, but with each generation there are new challenges that teens face, at least in a different way than their parents did. This has never been truer than today with the influences of social networking and a constant connection to the internet and media. It’s more important than ever for parents to be proactive in talking to their teens about hot-button issues such as the internet, dating, sexuality and drugs. As a resource to help parents have those difficult conversations with their children, Nicole O’Dell, author and popular radio host, has launched an innovative, proactive strategy parents can use to prepare their teens for difficult decisions with the release of the Hot Buttons book series.

What exactly is a hot-button issue? A hot button is any emotional or controversial issue that has the potential to trigger intense reaction. What topics fit in this category? “Pretty much everything that pummels your kids with temptation and threatens to pull them away from a walk with God. Music, dating, computer use, texting, partying, drugs, the list goes on and on,” says O’Dell. “These issues are real and often confusing. They require attention—before they arise—and ignoring them can have dire consequences.”

This summer, the Hot Button series debuted with the release Internet Edition and Dating Edition to be followed with the October releases of the Drug and Sexualityeditions. Each book begins with a real look at the temptations and situations that teens are faced with, including current statistics. O’Dell outlines questions for parents to ask themselves before launching into a discussion as well as advice on how to approach their teens to begin conversations. Speaking from experience, she gives parents do’s and don’ts guidelines on what questions to ask and how to react.

·         Hot Buttons Dating Edition offers practical real-life situations that parents can read and discuss with their preteens. Topics include: physical activity, missionary dating, and violence/abuse in dating relationships.

·         Hot Buttons Internet Edition helps parents prepare their teens for online challenges they may face. Topics discussed include: internet activity, file sharing, social networking, and internet predators.

·         Hot Buttons Drug Edition braves the scary world of substance abuse, equipping parents with facts, warning signs, and real-world scenarios on: alcohol; Marijuana and other drugs; inhalants; and prescription drugs.

·         Hot Buttons Sexuality Edition offers: the facts about teen sexuality, backed by statistics; specifics for how to talk frankly about sex with your kids, discussion about the growth of homosexuality and bisexuality among teens; and compassionate advice for guiding your teen to reclaim purity.

The most unique and practical aspect of each Hot Button book is the strategic scenarios—short stories that allow parents to introduce certain challenges to their teens in a creative “what would you do?” question and answer format. Each Hot Button scenario is followed by three or four choices from which the teen can choose to resolve the situation. Parents are then encouraged to help their children explore, ask questions, and discuss the options so when the scenarios come up in real life, teens are prepared with their response.

O’Dell was inspired to start the series when looking for ways to talk to her own children. “I was searching for ways to lead my children to make good decisions. I decided it would be far better to talk to them proactively about issues they would one day face than it would be to wait until they were buried under poor choices,” she writes. “I believed it would be easier to control the way they perceived the information and far easier to help them see and understand the consequences of poor decisions if they could look at it objectively, without the added stress of peer pressure and other outside influences.”

These first four editions are just a start to the Hot Buttons series. Upcoming releases in 2013 will include books on Bullying and Image. Plans for an interactive app are also in development.  The series has recently received the Focus on the Family seal of approval.

Readers can get updates on the series, interact with Nicole O’Dell and more by visiting the Hot Buttons Facebook Page, following Hot Buttons on Twitter, or visitingwww.hotbuttonsite.com. 

Parents and teens can join O’Dell for a special online live chat on November 1 (more details will be available soon).

About the Author

Youth-culture expert, Nicole O’Dell is the host of Choose NOW Radio: Parent Talk and Teen Talk and the founder of Choose NOW Ministries, dedicated to guiding teens through tough issues and helping parents encourage good decisions.

On air, O’Dell covers peer pressure, dating, purity, drugs, alcohol, modesty, popularity, and anything else that comes up along the way.  Nicole writes and speaks to preteens, teenagers, and parents about how to prepare for life’s tough choices.

As an author, O’Dell writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her popular YA fiction includes the Diamond Estate Series and the Scenarios for Girls interactive books that feature alternate endings, allowing young girls to decide the outcome for  the main character. Her nonfiction for teens includes Girl Talk, which she wrote with her two daughters based on their popular advice column.

While her YA resources encourage and equip teens, Nicole also works to bridge the communication gap between teens and their parents. The Hot Buttons series helps parents discuss tough issues with their tweens and teens before the issues pop up in real life. Watch for future Hot Buttons books on subjects like bullying, image, prejudice, friendships, politics, and more.

O’Dell, resides in Paxton, IL, with her husband and six children—the youngest of whom are toddler triplets.

Author helps parents with the Hot Buttons in their teens’ lives

Hot Buttons series opens the doors to communication with step by step advice

All parents were teenagers once, but with each generation there are new challenges that teens face, at least in a different way than their parents did. This has never been truer than today with the influences of social networking and a constant connection to the internet and media. It’s more important than ever for parents to be proactive in talking to their teens about hot-button issues such as the internet, dating, sexuality and drugs. As a resource to help parents have those difficult conversations with their children, Nicole O’Dell, author and popular radio host, has launched an innovative, proactive strategy parents can use to prepare their teens for difficult decisions with the release of the Hot Buttons book series.

An interview with Nicole O’Dell,

Author of Hot Buttons

Q: You are a mom of six. Did the idea for the Hot Buttons series come from your own experiences in talking to your children?

Definitely. 

I was searching for ways to lead my children to make good decisions and decided it would be far better to talk to them proactively about issues they would one day face, than it would be to wait until they were buried under poor choices. I believed it would be easier to control the way they perceived the information and easier to help them see and understand the consequences of poor decisions if they could look at it objectively, without the added stress of peer pressure and other outside influences. This relaxed and safe way of approaching the issues has been invaluable in preparing my own kids for the pressure they’d soon face, and the added benefit of open and honest discussion has brought us closer together.

Q: How do you decide the right age to discuss these hot buttons with your child? Should you talk about all of these issues about the same time, or do some come earlier than others?

Long ago, I decided it would be far better to talk to my kids pro-actively about issues they would face one day than to wait until they were buried under poor choices, like I was in my own teen years.

I knew that if I had any hope of being as proactive as I wanted to be, I’d have to be willing to talk about the hard things like sex, drugs, alcohol, suicide, bullying, modesty, pornography, and more, perhaps even before they actually knew what those things were. No subject could be off-limits and nothing could be ignored.

With that as a goal, conversations are always happening. Parents don’t need to wait until the issue comes up. In fact, it’s better if they don’t. No, not everything needs to be covered at once, but something should always be on the table. Shine the light and crowd out the darkness.

Q: What is an appropriate age for teens to start dating? Are there any variables to be considered?

Every teenager is different, so I hesitate to give an exact age. In Hot Buttons: Dating Edition, I outline several benchmarks for parents to look for as well as questions to ask themselves and their teenager before deciding whether or not it’s a good time to allow dating. Parents need to be prepared to make that age different for each of their kids, if necessary. It’s about readiness, not perceived fairness.

Q: How early do parents need to be talking to their children about sexuality?

2? 3? Honestly, sexuality and issues related to it should be on parents' minds from the time their kids are toddlers. Hanging back and waiting for the all-important sex talk as the launching point misses very important opportunities to develop self-awareness in kids. They need to be pointed toward a healthy marriage from a very early age so they have their sights set fully on what God has for them--even if they can't put it into words yet. Modeling a godly lifestyle, answering questions, and having intentional, age-appropriate conversations from the very beginning are vital. By the time kids are ten, you can be sure they've started to grasp some of the finer points of sex and their own sexuality. This is when deeper and more specific conversations should be tackled.

Q: What signs should parents watch for if they suspect their teen of using drugs?

From Hot Buttons: Drug Edition

They can be sudden, glaring changes that scream for your help, or they can be subtle trends that creep in slowly like a sinister fog. If you’re not observant, the fog will overtake your teen.

The symptoms fall into three categories: emotional, behavioral, and spiritual.

Specific emotional changes that can signal drug use include:

• Irritability
• Aggressiveness
• Mood or attitude changes
• Depression
• Excitability
• Restlessness
• Drastic mood swings

Behavioral changes might include:

• Lack of care for personal hygiene
• Major shift in personal style, such as clothing and hair
• Weight loss or gain
• Drowsiness or sluggishness
• Bloodshot, watery, or glazed eyes
• Clumsiness
• Drop in grades
• Lack of focus
• New group of friends; cutting ties with old friends
• Lying or making excuses
• Stealing
• Breaking curfew
• Withdrawal from the family or activities
• Verbal or physical abuse toward others

And spiritual alarm bells might include:

• Pulling away from church or youth group
• Avoiding prayer or other spiritual connections
• Expressing doubt or disbelief

Q: How closely should parents monitor their children’s online activities? What are some of the things parents can do to keep their children safe?

It’s not necessarily their fault when they stumble onto something risky. So it’s our job as parents to protect our kids. I have a few rules in my house that exist no matter what—even with the most trustworthy kids. It doesn’t really matter how much you trust them because when entering the WWW, they are exposed to an entire world of people and things that they don’t know how to avoid or why they should.

1.       Parental controls on computers to protect from dangerous websites that open the door to dangerous things like pornography and connections with strangers.

2.       Time limits on computer use.

3.       Internet access only in public areas of the home.

4.       Access via a shared password to every account a teen has (email, social media, etc.)

Q: Honestly, if parents don’t talk to their teens about the difficult topics such as dating and sex, where do they expect their teens to get information in order to make good decisions?

Sadly, I see a lot of parents who are clearly just hoping to make it through the teen years. Their hands-off approach leaves a teenager to wade through the doubt, confusion, peer pressure, and temptation all alone. And no teenager is equipped to do that in a healthy way. Without Mom and Dad taking charge, friends, the media, and anything else with a voice will take over.

Q: Why is it so important for parents to talk to pre-teens and teenagers about choices?

If I look at all to the major struggles I’ve had in my life, troubles I’ve caused, mistakes I’ve made…they can all be traced back to a moment of choice. Do it, or don’t? At that moment, when a decision is made, it sets a pattern of activity into action and you can’t go back to the moment before that choice—big or small—was made. 

Thankfully, we serve a big God who is in the business of forgiveness and restoration. Even though it would obviously be better to have made the right choices in the beginning, when we do make mistakes, He’ll pick up the pieces and put our messes back together.

And, while ultimately it's a simple process because God's already done the work, it doesn't come naturally to human beings to deny self-gratification and choose the right path. And when mistakes are made, it's not always easy accept grace and forgiveness. So, the goal is that we, as parents, will teach our kids about that process before the choices are presented.

Learn more about Nicole O’Dell and her books and Choose NOW podcasts at www.nicoleodell.com. She has special sections set up for both teens and parents. Readers can also keep up with her via Facebook and Twitter.