Amanda Craig: Who Are You and What Have You Done With My Kid?

Please join Barrett Bookstore as we celebrate Dr. Amanda Craig’s new book: Who Are You and What Have You Done with My Kid?
Join Dr. Craig for conversation, light refreshments and snacks. Bring the entire family or come for a date night… sure to be fun! Please RSVP: pbbarrettbooks@gmail.com

ABOUT DR. CRAIG

Amanda Craig, PhD is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) based in Lower Fairfield County Connecticut and New York City. A native of Richfield, Minnesota, Dr. Craig has been practicing for more than 20 years. She has worked with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families in a variety of settings including research departments, juvenile correction facilities, high schools, Fortune 500 companies, substance abuse programs, university/college classrooms and private practice.

Dr. Craig specializes in treatment of relationship issues such as communication, conflict resolution and infidelity as well as individual challenges like depression, anxiety, addiction and life-work harmony. There are three things she knows for sure: 1) We are not defined by adversities, but rather how we handle them. 2) Taking healthy risks, setting boundaries and stepping outside our comfort zone will bring fulfillment in both life and relationships. 3) Make the most of today. Whatever that means to you, no matter how small it seems.

Dr. Craig lives in Darien, CT with her husband, five-year-old daughter, 12-year-old son, 10 chickens, one dog, two cats and two fish.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book poured from me, a calling to give parents the information and tools they need to create healthy relationships with their tween, head off problems before they happen and address them when they do. It covers why the tween years are among the most critical years developmentally for our kids then presents the wisdom found in faith teachings in combination with what we know from the fields of neuroscience and family therapy to parenting during the middle school years in a way that is accessible to the general public. It goes like this…

So you have a tween…

Perhaps she’s 11 years old, wants to be 16 one minute and plays with her Barbies the next, explores fashion, dance and makeup tips via TikTok yet still wants you to tuck her in at night along with her lifelong stuffed bunny.

Or, he’s halfway to 13, doling out opinions largely extracted from YouTube, obsessed with his buddies, sports and bodily noises yet often close to tears and in need of a snuggle when even a minor thing doesn’t go his way.

As a parent of a tween, you’re likely on a roller coaster of emotions – confused, enamored, awed and more than a little frustrated. You’ve probably asked yourself more than once, “Who are you and what have you done with my kid?”

Raising a tween…

Raising a tween is a conundrum! They morph before our very eyes from affectionate and silly kids one minute to a mystery of contradicting behaviors the next.

One day they are cuddly, attentive and enjoyable. Another day they are unpredictable, moody and uncooperative.

They are old enough to be genuinely funny, playful, in-tune and insightful about the world around them. Yet despite the steps they are taking toward adulthood, tweens are going through a complex neurological development process which leaves everyone in the family, including them, wondering what is going on.

As a parent of a tween boy and a 5-year old girl, I know how challenging “tween-dom” can be. As a practicing Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in emotional connection for over 20 years, I bring parenting and relationship insight as well as research to help parents find clarity and connection with their tweens and each other. As a woman and parent of faith, I incorporate spiritual insights to help empower you and your family along the way.

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