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The Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers
By popular demand, New Zealand's most popular parenting writer has drawn on his extensive experience in family therapy and working with the country's most difficult teenagers to write the book that will save the sanity of parents everywhere.
Once you've negotiated the terrors of toddlerdom and the perils of primary school you think you've got a pretty good handle on this parenting thing - then along comes Mother Nature with her horrible hormones and suddenly you're so far behind square one you're starting to wonder if this raging bundle of contradictions screaming at you was switched in the night by evil aliens. With his now trademark humour and pragmatic common sense approach, Nigel debunks the politically correct nightmare of perfect parenting and argues for sanity first - yours - and reclaiming the ground parents have lost in the great 'I'm my child's best friend' debacle. With international sales of BEFORE YOUR KIDS DRIVE YOU CRAZY, READ tHIS! in Israel, Portugal, Spain, Holland, Italy and Russia, a major marketing campaign for an Australian edition next year, and a television series based on the first book in the pipeline, Nigel Latta is building a solid reputation in this challenging field.
Once you've negotiated the terrors of toddlerdom and the perils of primary school you think you've got a pretty good handle on this parenting thing - then along comes Mother Nature with her horrible hormones and suddenly you're so far behind square one you're starting to wonder if this raging bundle of contradictions screaming at you was switched in the night by evil aliens. With his now trademark humour and pragmatic common sense approach, Nigel debunks the politically correct nightmare of perfect parenting and argues for sanity first - yours - and reclaiming the ground parents have lost in the great 'I'm my child's best friend' debacle. With international sales of BEFORE YOUR KIDS DRIVE YOU CRAZY, READ tHIS! in Israel, Portugal, Spain, Holland, Italy and Russia, a major marketing campaign for an Australian edition next year, and a television series based on the first book in the pipeline, Nigel Latta is building a solid reputation in this challenging field.
- GenresNonfictionParenting
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
57 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Nigel Latta
21 books23 followersNigel Raymond Latta ONZM was a New Zealand clinical psychologist, author and broadcaster. He has been described as "New Zealand's best-known psychologist".
Nigel Raymond Latta was born and raised in Oamaru, New Zealand. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School & he studied Marine Science and Zoology at the University of Otago, and completed a Master of Philosophy with First Class Honours in Psychology at the University of Auckland, along with a postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology.
Latta worked as a consultant in his field for private companies and government social service agencies, including Department of Corrections, the New Zealand Police and Child Youth and Family.
In the 2010s, he became known for his true crime documentaries and psychology-based television series, as the host of Beyond The Darklands, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers and The Politically Incorrect Parenting Show, and a science show called Nigel Latta Blows Stuff Up, among others. In 2016, Latta co-found Ruckus Films, a production company which produced several feature documentaries including Born This Way: Awa’s Story and Stan. He also began presenting general interest television shows, such as The Hard Stuff with Nigel Latta, which approached social and political issues,and You've Been Scammed by Nigel Latta which examines common types of scams.
Latta was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, for services to psychology.
In September 2024, Latta revealed that he had been diagnosed with "inoperable and incurable" terminal stomach cancer, and that he was undergoing chemotherapy that had shrunk the tumour by about 60 percent. Latta was told that he had 6 to 12 months to live. In February 2025, the prognosis was reduced to four weeks after a scan indicated that the cancer had spread to his lungs. However, Latta later said that, because of the treatment he was receiving, he believed he would continue to live for "years and years". In March 2025, he stated that he was no longer terminally ill. Latta died on 30 September 2025, at the age of 58 at the Mercy Hospice in Ponsonby, Auckland.
Abridged from Wikipedia, information about his death from the Stuff website.
Nigel Raymond Latta was born and raised in Oamaru, New Zealand. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School & he studied Marine Science and Zoology at the University of Otago, and completed a Master of Philosophy with First Class Honours in Psychology at the University of Auckland, along with a postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology.
Latta worked as a consultant in his field for private companies and government social service agencies, including Department of Corrections, the New Zealand Police and Child Youth and Family.
In the 2010s, he became known for his true crime documentaries and psychology-based television series, as the host of Beyond The Darklands, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers and The Politically Incorrect Parenting Show, and a science show called Nigel Latta Blows Stuff Up, among others. In 2016, Latta co-found Ruckus Films, a production company which produced several feature documentaries including Born This Way: Awa’s Story and Stan. He also began presenting general interest television shows, such as The Hard Stuff with Nigel Latta, which approached social and political issues,and You've Been Scammed by Nigel Latta which examines common types of scams.
Latta was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, for services to psychology.
In September 2024, Latta revealed that he had been diagnosed with "inoperable and incurable" terminal stomach cancer, and that he was undergoing chemotherapy that had shrunk the tumour by about 60 percent. Latta was told that he had 6 to 12 months to live. In February 2025, the prognosis was reduced to four weeks after a scan indicated that the cancer had spread to his lungs. However, Latta later said that, because of the treatment he was receiving, he believed he would continue to live for "years and years". In March 2025, he stated that he was no longer terminally ill. Latta died on 30 September 2025, at the age of 58 at the Mercy Hospice in Ponsonby, Auckland.
Abridged from Wikipedia, information about his death from the Stuff website.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 24, 2016
As well as giving me a few laughs, Latta helped me to put my soon-to-be-thirteen-year-old daughter's behavior into perspective.
The first sections of the book introduce frameworks for understanding what's happening with teenagers, the biological changes occurring in their brains and bodies, and the life changes they are going through. These sections also provide a brief overview of research into teenage behavior, including their tendency to underestimate risk factors while being overly impacted by the presence of peers. Latta suggests a problem solving approach with strategies for responding to these teenage behavior patterns. The final section of the book provides concrete examples that bring all of this information together for practical use.
I sense I will be returning to this book repeatedly over the next few years.
Caution: this book has loads of bad language, so if you're sensitive to that, you're probably going to be too offended to get much help from it.
The first sections of the book introduce frameworks for understanding what's happening with teenagers, the biological changes occurring in their brains and bodies, and the life changes they are going through. These sections also provide a brief overview of research into teenage behavior, including their tendency to underestimate risk factors while being overly impacted by the presence of peers. Latta suggests a problem solving approach with strategies for responding to these teenage behavior patterns. The final section of the book provides concrete examples that bring all of this information together for practical use.
I sense I will be returning to this book repeatedly over the next few years.
Caution: this book has loads of bad language, so if you're sensitive to that, you're probably going to be too offended to get much help from it.
April 28, 2014
As a teenager, this is a fascinating book to read as you can see the struggles facing a parent as their child goes through the changes of youth. As a novelty book, this was also extremely funny to read of all the cases of the 'problem' children and their stories. Overall, this was a great book and I would thoroughly recommend to parents for parenting reasons, or to anyone as a book that is comical and fun to read.
May 8, 2021
“Essentially, teenagers are not right in the head.”
As soon as I read this, I knew I needed this book in my life.
I felt so alone in my struggles; I now realize what I’ve been experiencing in my house is normal and has been occurring for hundreds of years before me, and will likely be going on for centuries after me.
I incorporated tools like the Ladder of Doom for iPhone curfew time, not just punishing bad behavior, but also giving my girls motivation for good behavior too.
It’s been eye-opening.
“For many families, the teenage years are a bit like global warming: once everything starts to heat up, the weather just keeps getting wilder and wilder. The once-in-a-hundred-years storms seem to roll through every second day. There are floods, hurricanes and tropical downpours in temperate regions.
Through all these storms you must be the rock, not the sea. You must not let yourself be tossed around by the gales; instead, you must be the stable centre, the immovable mass upon which the seas throw themselves.
This requires determination and focus, because the storms can sometimes be loud and prolonged. You must become rock-like in such moments. You must hold your ground.
You will never see a rock in hot pursuit. A rock simply sits in its place and waits for the world to come to it. This is what you must do when your teenagers run this way and that.
You must not chase them, you must simply wait.”
A dad in the book put these principles into practice and was asked:
‘And do the girls hate you now that you’ve introduced all these rules and stuff?’ James laughed. ‘Some of the time, for sure, but that’s the nice thing about being a bit more rock-like: rocks don’t tend to lose sleep over stuff.’
If you are a baffled and struggling parent of teenagers, do yourself a favor and read this book. I am not being dramatic when I say it will change your life for the better.
As soon as I read this, I knew I needed this book in my life.
I felt so alone in my struggles; I now realize what I’ve been experiencing in my house is normal and has been occurring for hundreds of years before me, and will likely be going on for centuries after me.
I incorporated tools like the Ladder of Doom for iPhone curfew time, not just punishing bad behavior, but also giving my girls motivation for good behavior too.
It’s been eye-opening.
“For many families, the teenage years are a bit like global warming: once everything starts to heat up, the weather just keeps getting wilder and wilder. The once-in-a-hundred-years storms seem to roll through every second day. There are floods, hurricanes and tropical downpours in temperate regions.
Through all these storms you must be the rock, not the sea. You must not let yourself be tossed around by the gales; instead, you must be the stable centre, the immovable mass upon which the seas throw themselves.
This requires determination and focus, because the storms can sometimes be loud and prolonged. You must become rock-like in such moments. You must hold your ground.
You will never see a rock in hot pursuit. A rock simply sits in its place and waits for the world to come to it. This is what you must do when your teenagers run this way and that.
You must not chase them, you must simply wait.”
A dad in the book put these principles into practice and was asked:
‘And do the girls hate you now that you’ve introduced all these rules and stuff?’ James laughed. ‘Some of the time, for sure, but that’s the nice thing about being a bit more rock-like: rocks don’t tend to lose sleep over stuff.’
If you are a baffled and struggling parent of teenagers, do yourself a favor and read this book. I am not being dramatic when I say it will change your life for the better.
September 10, 2012
Great book to help you understand and deal with your teens. Also an entertaining book to read. Latta has a great sense of humor. If you're squeamish about a fair amount of gratuitous swearing I suggest you read on nevertheless. Its a good book, and one I recommend to any parent with preteens or teens. I'll pass it on to my kids someday. Just for a little bit of payback I hope they need it!
September 23, 2015
Gimlet eyed Latta shares his professional and personal experiences with us. He's a witty man who has experienced far worse teenagers than you and I have. If you're not in a hospital watching your child afflicted with a terrible condition then there's always hope. Main message=ride it out, it's just a phase. :) Lindsay
July 19, 2021
Filled with humour and tips, effectively helping me with strategies and the knowledge that our teenagers are 1) behaving just as they 'should' and 2) behaving a whole lot better than they could ...
August 25, 2022
Such a good book! Very helpful for "the trenches" of parenting teens. Super practical and logical.
Could do with an update (mentions Bebo amd MySpace!) and a bit of a beef up on how much social media is now impacting our teens, but all the tips still completely relevant in 2022.
Could do with an update (mentions Bebo amd MySpace!) and a bit of a beef up on how much social media is now impacting our teens, but all the tips still completely relevant in 2022.
December 21, 2023
So funny and very empowering. Most parenting books are disempowering. This was great!
July 20, 2024
Just two words - absolutely brilliant!! I’ll be coming back to this book regularly.
November 19, 2025
Gender stereotypes aside (should've anticipated that from the title), a useful read
November 1, 2011
This book is humourous because its basically just trying to teach parents how to deal with teenagers!? This guy is also a host of his own show and he always cracks jokes. Nigel Latta is a skilled speaker and knows how to deal with people. If you want to control your kids then this is the book for you :) Obviously this book is directed at adults or parents. This book covers that it was written by a New Zealander on the bingo board.
February 16, 2012
Four star worthy, if I actually had a teenager =). Very clear, concise and funny. Has some very clear and easy to follow techniques, backed up by both experience and data and straightforward. Simple advice that shows you how and when to implement it, very strongly recommend Latta's writings.
November 4, 2013
Fabulous book for those with teenagers. Funny, easy to read, makes perfect sense and is really helpful
March 28, 2016
Practical, realistic for the most part, affirming, and entertaining. One of the better parenting teen books I have read.
Read
December 10, 2014Great concepts once you've waded through the bad language
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews