Helping young people towards maturity demands that they be mature themselves. Without such maturity it is difficult to relate fully to the challenging behaviour of some adolescents. A relationship that is genuine, non-judgemental, compassionate, empathic and unconditionally loving is necessary in order to resolve conflicts that so often arise between parents, other adults and teenagers.

The authors emphasise that no matter how problematic a young person's behaviour may be, there is a cause or explanation; appreciation of this goes a long way towards helping young people to resolve that which is troubling them.

The book is structured so that each chapter stands on its own, allowing the reader to focus on specific issues that may arise in their own and their teenagers' lives.