In “The Disintegrating Student,” Dr. Jeannine Jannot provides helpful suggestions to parents to understand today’s teenagers’ struggles. She describes the disintegrating student as someone with a  lot of potential but who can not succeed due to distractions. A disintegrated student can not focus on schoolwork, procrastinates all the time, and is crushed under high expectations from parents and teachers. In her book, she gives parents tips and suggestions to help their disintegrated children to get back on track. 

With 25+ years of experience in parenting and education, Dr. Jannot provides effective, proven strategies to parents to help their struggling children. Providing real-life examples, the book offers a toolkit of tools focused on organization, time management, stress, study habits, sleep, mindset, and technology. 

One of the important takeaways from the book is the growth mindset. Dr. Jannot provides examples of fixed mindsets and how these individuals set barriers for themselves. Someone with a fixed mindset will always find excuses when coming across obstacles and eventually give up. The growth mindset allows a person to grow exponentially while pushing their limits. A person with a growth mindset knows there is always room for growth and keeps improving their skills to get to the next level. 

Another important takeaway from the book is in Chapter 5: Parental Influences. In this chapter, Dr. Jannot explains how parents influence their children without realizing it. She mentions “praise” is one of those de-motivators when used excessively. To a certain degree, praising a child is good and encourages them to do even better. However, unnecessary praise creates a wrong perception of self esteem. The person who is praised all the time comes to a conclusion that he/she is perfect and has nothing to change.

Dr. Jannot also talks about stress and how teenagers are under a lot of stress in their daily lives. Many individuals choose to ignore issues associated with stress. Instead of eliminating factors creating stress, Dr. Jannot recommends learning to deal with it. She claims that the stress is even helpful in raising children when it’s perceived as a challenge rather than a threat. This skill comes with time and it really depends on parents preparing their children with the tools to face challenges in their lives. 

It’s very clear that the parents play a huge role in raising their children. In Chapter 7, Dr. Jannot provides a list of recommendations for parents and students. Her 77 item list includes some common strategies such as “goal setting, planning, studying, paying attention, and meditating.” Her recommendations also include how to achieve them from the viewpoint of a teenager and their parents. 

The Disintegrating Student by Dr. Jeannine Jannot can be purchased on Amazon and other book stores.