Before It's Too Late: Why Some Kids Get in Trouble and What Parents Can Do About It, was written by Stanton E. Samenow, Ph.D., published by Time Books. Stanton E. Samenow also wrote books Inside the Criminal Mind and Straight Talk About Criminals. He has been evaluating and counseling antisocial youth and their families for over a decade. The purpose of this book is to teach parents an approach they can take when dealing with antisocial youth. In the book, Samenow strongly emphasizes that children become delinquents by choice. Choice theory holds that youth will engage in delinquent and criminal behavior after weighing the consequences and benefits of their actions. Delinquent behavior is a rational choice made by a motivated offender who perceives that the chances of gain outweigh any possible punishment or loss. (Siegel & Welsh, 2011) Throughout the book, Samenow states that most parents blame themselves for their children's behavior. Most of the time, parents are blamed by others for their child's irresponsible actions, which leads parents to blame themselves. Children begin to make their own choices at a young age, and as they grow older, the choices they make become more complex. Although parents can have a great influence on a child, they cannot control their state of mind. Parenting techniques used by parents may play a small role in a child's behavior, but they do not create antisocial children. Parents need to stop blaming themselves every time their children make bad choices, because it is the child himself who makes this decision, not the parents. Ultimately, the antisocial child knows the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Many try to claim that the bad environment a child finds himself in...... middle of paper ...... series of others. In one example from the book, Samenow said that if a disabled child tripped and fell, it was the antisocial child who would taunt them. The antisocial child's main goal is to get his needs met, and he doesn't care who he manipulates or hurts along the way. I thought this book was a good book. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that the author repeated himself a lot throughout the book. Something I will always remember about this book will be the signs of antisocial behavior that the author tells parents to watch out for because I am a parent myself. If I had to recommend this book, I would recommend it to parents and people who deal with antisocial children as part of their profession. Works Cited Siegel, L. and Welsh, B. (2011). Juvenile delinquency at heart. (Fourth ed., p. 54). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.