Did you know…
That second graders are rule enforcers? This is the age where fairness is the most important thing to them. This is also the age where they will begin to notice differences. Up to this point everyone was the same, but now they’ll begin to notice a child is better at art than them. They will notice the child in their class who has a different skin color. At this age they start to become more capable of understanding variations.
Did you know…
That you are at the peak of embarrassment during your seventh graders year? It’s hard to know what you should say and do in front of different groups of people. Insecurity is the name of the game in middle school and the worst thing for any seventh grader is to be caught alone. At this age they try to do everything in groups. A side effect to this is they are also beginning to discover their own uniqueness.
Did you know…
That your tenth grader is getting their first taste of freedom. Whether they are driving or have friends who drive, this is the first time in their lives they haven’t had to depend on you for a ride. They will also realize the amount of restrictions they’ve had in their life so far. They will begin to challenge you about things they never had before. Boundaries that you put in place that don’t make sense to them will be a cause for friction. You will have to become more collaborative in creating boundaries. They start to become more aware of things happening in the world around them.
It may seem daunting to understand each phase that your child or children are in, but it’s worth learning. Once you have a little bit of knowledge on why your child is exhibiting certain behaviors it can help you to empathize with them. We learn new and different ways to make sure our children feel loved no matter what phase they are in.
It also helps our “parental feelings” to know that my child isn’t the only one doing this. Whew.
So where do you start?
We recommend the “Parenting Your” Phase Guides. It’s an 18 part series, one for each phase of life that your child will go through. We have the entire set available here at the church for you to use. At Maitland Presbyterian Church we are committed to partnering with you as parents and/or grandparents, and want to help equip you with as many tools as possible. And one place to start is by learning a little more about the phase your child is going through.
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