The 3 Fundamentals That Everyone Always Forget About Parenting a Tween

The tween years of a child are one of the most challenging periods to any parent. Biologically the years between 10 and 12 are when the body is experiencing a lot of changes. This may come with a lot of excitement and confusion to both the child and the parent. And in the midst of all this most parents may feel out of control of the child while others feel defeated. But when we go back to the basics, there are three fundamentals that everyone always forgets about parenting a tween. Since knowledge is power we will refer to some of these fundamentals to give us a better understanding of why the sudden change of attitude or behavior in a tween and how it can be addressed.

One of the fundamentals that all parents seem to forget is that in the tween years is when teenage is fast approaching and at these stages most tweens will tend to be more secretive. There is an increasing need to have their privacy. They become less open about their day at school. Others will prefer to spend more time on their own, probably chatting with their friends behind closed doors. This is the stage where most parents feel like they are losing it because the communication is very little or probably not as much as before. When it gets to this stage experts advice that the best option is to try and relate to your tween with stories about your own tweenhood however embarrassing they maybe, as a way of letting them know you have noticed something is troubling them. Another more effective way would be to request your younger but adult brother or sister to have a chat with your tween especially the one who is cool with your tween.

The second most important necessity is that most parents will always forget that their tween is at a critical stage of his or her development. As such the self esteem and body image of the child may take a beating during this period. For most girls it may come about because they feel they are more obsessed with their bodies, they feel less pretty or obese as compared to their peers. The boys tend to feel as if they are smaller or less developed compared to their peer groups. If these feelings could go unchecked they normally lead to depressions or a child prefers to live a withdrawn life. It can also result in eating disorders. To avoid such occurrence the best approach is to mind how you speak or interact with them. Avoid sensitive comments on their appearance that may hurt them. Also having dinner together on a regular basis as a family goes a long way in instilling confidence and self esteem into your tween.

The third and final most fundamental is that most parents shy away from having a sex talk with children especially when they are at these critical ages, where they would want to experiment with anything. Most parents think that the child is too young to have such a discussion. The fact of the matter is that, it is the right time to start talking to them on these topics or else they will get their schooling from the television or the Internet. It is always advisable to be open to your tween on this topic and regularly have a chat on it.