How do you talk to your kids about...?
Latest Additions to Hot Button Series
Prepare 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
Sexuality
editions. 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. 
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
978-0-8254-4240-7 (June 2012)
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.
978-0-8254-4239-1 (June 2012)
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.
978-0-8254-4241-4 (October 2012)
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.
978-0-8254-4242-1 (October 2012)
$9.99/ 168 pages each / 2-color interior
/ paperback
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 visiting www.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
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.
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.
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