The Breakthrough Years: A New Scientific Framework for Raising Thriving Teens

by Ellen Galinsky

This program features an introduction and conclusion read by the author.

Blending cutting-edge research with engaging storytelling, The Breakthrough Years offers readers a paradigm-shifting comprehensive understanding of adolescence.

“Just wait until they’re a teenager!”

Many parents of newborns have heard this warning about the stressful phase that’s to come. But what if it doesn’t have to be that way?

Child development expert Ellen Galinsky challenges widely held assumptions about adolescents and offers new ways for parents and others to better understand and interact with them in a way that helps them thrive.

By combining the latest research on cognitive neuroscience with an unprecedented and extensive set of studies of young people nine through nineteen and their families, Galinsky reveals, among other things, that adolescents don’t want to separate completely from their parents but seek a different type of relationship; that they want to be helpers rather than be helped; and that social media can become a positive influence for teens.

Galinsky’s Shared Solutions framework and Possibilities Mindset show you how to turn daily conflicts into opportunities for problem-solving where both teens and parents feel listened to and respected; how to encourage positive risk-taking in your child like standing up for themselves, making new friends, and helping their communities; and how to promote five essential executive function–based skills that can help them succeed now and in the future.

The Breakthrough Years recasts adolescence as a time of possibility for teens and adults, offering breakthrough opportunities for connection.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Education, Adolescence

Audible Audio

Published March 26, 2024

About the author

Ellen Galinsky, president and cofounder of the Families and Work Institute, helped establish the field of work and family life at Bank Street College of Education, where she was on the faculty for twenty-five years. At the institute, she continues to conduct seminal research on the changing workforce and changing family. Her more than forty books and reports include Ask the Children: The Breakthrough Study That Reveals How to Succeed at Work and Parenting and the now-classic The Six Stages of Parenthood. She has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the 2004 Distinguished Achievement Award from Vassar College. She served as the elected president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources in 2005. She holds a Master of Science degree in child development and education from Bank Street College of Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in child study from Vassar College. A popular keynote speaker, she was a presenter at the White House Conference on Child Care in 1997 and on Teenagers in 2000. She is featured regularly in the media, including appearances on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Breakthrough Years, researcher Ellen Galinsky shares results from her long term study of adolescence by the same title. My interest in this book stems from my experience as a parent to two adolescence boys.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything at all about childhood development. When my kids were young, I read a lot of parenting and early childhood education books- but after a while, it can be discouraging when your expectations (shaped by this deep reading from so many opinions about how best to raise and teach your children) don’t match reality.

In that way, this book is refreshing. I found it low on opinions and agenda and very high on numbers and facts. All the statistics shared could be overwhelming for the casual reader, but for anyone not adverse to so much data, and for anyone that has a professional interest in what is happening in the adolescent brain, The Breakthrough Years provides plenty of insight.

I especially appreciated the way that Galinsky sets out right from the start to upend long held negative assumptions about the teen brain and the way relationships between teens and adults have been typically perceived in American culture. I learned so many ways to reframe my encounters with my children from the lens of what adolescents actually reported that they need from the adults in their lives.

This feels like the kind of book that I’m going to need to reread, highlight, annotate and take notes from, and refer to time and again in the years to come. I particularly recommend it for educators, counselors, and anyone else who works with tweens, teens, and young adults. Parents will benefit from this information, as well, since most of us have been led to believe this season is necessarily divisive and scary. When we learn to respect and honor what our teens actually need from us, it may not have to be that way after all.

I listened to an advance audio copy of this book provided by Netgalley and Macmillan Audio.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book to read as I begin the teen/adolescent years with my children! It arrested my thoughts of worry and fear and is helping me catch and reframe negative views of this amazing time of life. This is a time of incredible development and young people are not just immature or undeveloped adults. They are themselves now with much to offer. I love how this book involves teenagers themselves in the process of understanding them. They have lots to tell us! And I found it very valuable to learn how the very things that can frustrate adults about the way teenagers view the world is actually a feature not a bug - their brains need to go through this for their own success!

It's a long book with a lot of data and studies. Sometimes it feels like research is confirming what we already know through experience and common sense, but it's still valuable to see.

[Katie Grabowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. This should be required reading for every teacher of adolescents and every parent.

[Shai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to preview this book in the AudioBook format.

The first thing that I pay attention to when I begin an audiobook is the narrator's voice and whether or not it is pleasant and goes along with the text being read. I enjoyed both the author's voice and Cassandra Campbell's voice. I think they both emphasized the key points well and read at a good pace.

With respect to the content of the audiobook, Ellen Galinsky has proved to be an expert in the field of adolescence. She had a good mix of adolescent voice and feedback, scientific research, and regular narration throughout the book. It keeps the reader engaged with the text which explains the adolescent brain, how adolescents want to be viewed by adults, and how best to react to adolescent behavior, among other helpful topics. I was surprised by some of the research that went against traditional thinking regarding adolescents. For example, I was always told that teenagers want to move away from their parents and establish their individuality. According to Galinsky, it's not that they want to be independent, it's that they want a different relationship, which can be fomented using strategies given in this text.

I was happy with the positive view Galinsky has of adolescents and their brains. Whenever I read about adolescents, many of the articles and/or texts are negative saying things such as adolescents take unnecessary risks and it's a reckless time in our lives. Galinsky lets us know that it doesn't have to be this way.

I found this book to be supremely helpful not just as a mom, but as a teacher of pre-teens as well. I would recommend this book to educators and parents as well as sections for adolescents themselves so that they can understand why they behave as they do.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook, as well as read the book in physical form, so I can say for sure that this was a well-researched book with a lot of strong guidance on the adolescent brain and teen experiences. I have two young children, but I want to be prepared as I parent them in their teen years. This book gives so many examples of teens' lived experiences and how we as parents and adults can be more receptive to their feelings. I highly recommend this book for anyone who interacts with adolescents.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Breakthrough Years has given me a new, positive outlook on parenting preteens and teens. Lots of great information from this helpful book. Here are a few takeaways with my biggest takeaway at the end.

I absolutely loved the focus on autonomy-supportive parenting. This parenting framework includes a set of strategies including expecting independent behaviors, expressing trust in a child’s ability to do and handle hard things, involving the child in problem-solving and decision-making, and showing understanding and respect for a child’s developing identity through curiosity about their experience and taking their perspective.

This book talked about specific ways to help develop independence and social connection in teens. One strategy that intrigued me was the idea of being a storytelling family where parents often share about experiences and stories from their lives with their children. This book talked about how kids of storytelling families have higher confidence, higher self-esteem, and our better socially adjusted.

Another point was about finding ways to contribute to the community. Studies have found that adolescence and adults who contribute to others see increases in physical and psychological health.

For my biggest takeaway—The author hit hard on stopping the negative talk surrounding “the teen years.” There is a general sense of dread or fear when adults/parents talk about these formative years. Galinsky talks about how preteens and teens are exactly where they need to be developmentally. These kids are smart and have a lot to offer.

Overall, The Breakthrough Years really changed my attitude about teens, and I can honestly say I have a more positive outlook about this developmental stage.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was often distracted by the different text features on each page. There were plenty of bullet points, breakout facts, an occasional chart, and stories that broke up the information too frequently to get into a flow. And while there was plenty of information to share as a "new scientific framework" for raising teens, it was information overload for me to read and I thought often that the information isn't necessarily new but just that there's a new way to study adolescents and that's the focus.

As a mom of teenagers I was hoping for more accessibility in this book. Others that she mentioned were much more crucial in my understanding of teens and helping figure out a way through adolescents to support them including the best one: The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents.

[Doug · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually had to put this book down. It seems the author has actually done little writing in this book.

Each chapter is replete with quotes from research papers, along with bulleted points from the papers, but overall does not communicate well to a reader who may be interested in application to better understand and interact with teens.

It comes across to me like a final outline of a masters or doctoral dissertation project.

[Alla Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic content, but it’s buried in a seemingly unedited draft. The book is repetitive, and the writing is as unpolished as this review. This is a shame, because the research is important and the findings are valuable!

Ellen, please edit this and publish an updated version!

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inciteful for parents of preteens.

[Kimberly]

98

[Michael DeRose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have children, but I found parts of this fascinating.

[Michael Sardone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the part about Executive Function and risk taking. The advice and stories really helped to reinforce points and give youth perspective of the issues facing them at this time.