Hot Buttons by Nicole O'Dell Review - Central Minnesota Mom

Title: Hot Buttons (The Hot Buttons Series). Titles include: Internet Edition, Drug Edition, Sexuality Edition, and Dating Edition
Author: Nicole O’Dell
Format: Paperback
To buy books: http://ow.ly/esojj

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?

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.

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.

Review:

My children are quite young yet, but I want to try and be prepared when they might start asking about a “hot button” issue. I think as parents we want nothing more than to guard and protect our children. We also need to arm them with tools to succeed when they are faced with temptation from others.

I recently attended a local seminar regarding drug and underage alcohol prevention and the speaker spoke to parents with preschool age children. She stated that we as parents/caretakers were the largest factor in keeping kids away from drugs and alcohol. It goes the same with other “hot buttons”, like choices regarding dating, internet usage, and sexuality. If we don’t talk about it, it’s like we are ignoring that issues even exist or then permitting poor choices with not making our children aware of our opinions in the first place.

Nicole O’Dell lays out the editions of sexuality, drugs, internet, and dating in an easy to understand format. She wants us to be confident parents and arm us with ways to talk about these tough issues. The books are paperback and made in a nice, compact size, easy to take with on the go and even tuck in your purse.

Nicole O’Dell’s Hot Buttons series is a wonderful resource for parents. Hot Buttons provides a great foundation to make it easier to talk with our children before someone else does.

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 Buttonsseries 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.

Disclosure: I received the Hot Buttons series for the purpose of this review through Litfuse Publicity. The thoughts and feelings expressed are my own. No other compensation was received.

About Karen