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Student behavior in middle school changes drastically from grade school. Fast tips for parental survival!
Congratulations - You've raised a self-confident grade-schooler who is now ready to enter Middle School!....And now, everything changes. The happy-go-lucky child who still cuddled on your lap is becoming uncommunicative. He doesn't want to attend church services with you, or hold your hand in public. You now have to drop your student off 3-blocks from the school to avoid the embarrassing event of the other students knowing he has parents...what happened? Compared to grade school, middle school is a whirlwind of social changes, peer pressure and the growth of independence. All of the "symptoms" of growth I related above are normal. Your child may experience other symptoms; just as a baby will cry and cry from frustration while learning a new skill, the middle-school child will withdraw to begin to acclimate himself to new experiences. Your job as a parent is to stand back, yet at the same time to keep in touch. How do you do that? Easy! · Keep your routines in place! The next few years of your child's life will feel to him as if he has been swept into a raging current of which he has no control. As parents, you have to provide the control, even against protest. Continue to have dinner together, attend church together, go to the zoo, make him breakfast in the morning, or set it out before going to work. Even though he may protest, there is comfort in the routine. · Remember, YOU are the parent! A middle school aged child can be a formidable opponent. He will rail at you in uncontrolled anger out of frustration and protest the status quo - Stay the course! Do not change house rules or expectations. Know whom he is with, where he is going and when he will be back. Make sure there is parental supervision while not at home. We always made our home available to other children so our house was the preferred gathering place! · It's Just Clothes! Dressing a child at this time is sometimes a battle. Hold strong. You are paying for the clothing, so your veto on outrageous or promiscuous designs should stand. · Love unconditionally At this age, a child can become totally unlovable one moment and cuddle the next - accept both. This is a time of defining oneself. Your child will try on different identities just as some people try on new outfits. It is a time of discovery and adventure. Enjoy the ride! Believe that in a few short years, this same child will metamorphose into the respectful adult you had hoped was under the baggy clothes all along!
The copyright of the article Back To School: Jr. High Students in Early Childhood is owned by Connie Newbauer. Permission to republish Back To School: Jr. High Students in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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