Positive Parenting Your Tween
Parenting preteens, or tweens, can be a challenge. Discipline, school, homework, time with family -- everything is renegotiated. Hormones kick in as puberty approaches, and the pressures
of the peer group magnify. Many moms and dads react to their tween's
moodiness, focus outside the family, increasing independence and
maturing physical body by distancing somewhat from 
their child. But
tweens need to feel they have a secure nest as they launch themselves
into the exciting but scary world. Kids who feel disconnected from
their parents lose their anchor and look for it in their peer group.
The
only way to make it through the tween years with a firm foundation for
the teen years to come is to fiercely maintain a strong bond with your
child, even while you encourage age-appropriate freedom. In fact, much like the toddler years, parents are the ones who determine whether the tween years are turbulent or terrific. How?
1. Stay connected by
having dinner together every night, or as often as possible. Kids who
have dinner with their parents do better in school, are less likely to
use drugs or alcohol, are less likely to have sex while in high school,
and are less likely to experience depression or anxiety.
Check in with
your tween every single day by spending some private time together;
many parents find that fifteen minutes at bedtime is grounding and most
intimate. But car rides run a close second, probably because kids feel less threatened when you aren't looking right at them. Establish a rule of no ipods or smart phones in the car so you can use that time to connect with your child. (And of course that rule applies to you also!)
Schedule regular longer alone-time with each parent, such
as monthly brunch with Dad or weekly walks with Mom. Don't expect your
son or daughter to invite closeness or volunteer vulnerable emotions at
each interaction, or when you expect it. But if you set up enough
regular opportunities to be together, it will happen.
2. To reduce rebelliousness, recognize and work with your tween’s need for independence.
Be aware that as we feel less powerful as parents we often compensate
by becoming overprotective. Instead of breathing down his neck, agree
on and enforce standards. Set reasonable limits (no phone calls during
dinner and after 9pm, no online chatting or TV until homework is
finished) and be sure to offer empathy when they hate your limits. It’s
their job to test limits, and yours to set limits based on your values.
3. Re-think your previous ideas about discipline. Power-based
punishment strategies stop working as soon as your child gets big
enough to say "You can't make me." Even consequences will only work a
short time longer, because many teens simply refuse them. You never win
a power struggle with your child. The only leverage we really have with
our tweens and teens is their love for us, which becomes a more potent
motivator over time. That means the best way to get your tween to follow your rules is to maintain a strong bond with him.
4. Don’t underestimate hormones.
Your child’s body is changing, creating mood swings, distractibility,
competitiveness, and preoccupation with the opposite sex. What's more, their brains are undergoing an extensive re-wiring, which can make them emotionally volatile. Tweens can even find
themselves in a full-blown tantrum without understanding how it
happened. Kindly tell your tantrumming preteen that you see how upset
they are and you want to give them time to pull themselves together
before you discuss it. Ask them if they want you to stay, or to leave the room to let everyone calm down. Your preteen doesn't understand his or her
moods any more than you do right now. Later, give them a big hug, and really listen to what they have to say. Even if you can't agree with their position, acknowledge your child's perspective, and work to find a win/win solution.
5. Don't take it personally! When
your tween yells at you to drop dead, don’t over-react. When they hurt
your feelings and you're tempted to withdraw, take a deep breath and
stand your ground calmly. That doesn't mean you don't kindly demand
civility, and it doesn't mean you can't use strategic withdrawals as a
chance to regroup, but that you continue to reinforce your love for and
connection to your child. Your best way to get your tween to act
respectfully towards you is to extend respect to her, and to calmly
insist on it in return.
6. The tween years are the perfect time to teach values,
which is best done not by lecturing, but by asking questions. To get
your child talking, become a brilliant listener, empathizer, and
question asker. Tweens are usually curious about your own early years,
those can be great opportunities to reassure them that even their
parents were insecure, as all tweens are. It’s also an opportunity to
teach; don’t be afraid to share real life examples of teens who died
from drinking and driving, or became addicted to drugs. It’s best,
though, if stories about your own life set a positive, rather than negative
example, such as having been insecure but struggled and overcome obstacles -- and now you're lucky enough to be your child's parent!
7. Be aware that the more popular culture your child is exposed to, the more risk she runs
of drug and alcohol use, depression and teen pregnancy. Tweens want to
feel grown up, so naturally they ape adult popular culture. Yes, they have to
fit in with their friends, but they count on their parents to keep them
safe and let them know what’s age appropriate. They aren’t ready for
the attention they get when they wear revealing fashions or sing that
inappropriate song at the recital. They need you to enforce strict
rules regarding internet use and what movies are appropriate. Tweens
want and need your guidance, even if they can’t show it.
8. Tweens are actively shaping their identity.
Support their experimenting and exploring, even when they’re into a new
fad every few weeks. Don’t comment on their fashions as long as their
body coverage is appropriate, and keep an open mind about their music.
Especially support the deep passions into which they really pour
themselves; those are protective during the tween and teen years.
9. Stay aware of your tween’s schoolwork,
offering help as necessary in developing time management skills,
insuring that homework gets done and big projects are worked on over
time. Be aware that how hard your tween works at school will depend on
whether his peers do, and try to have him attend a school where the
kids consider good grades cool. Maintaining high expectations and
insuring that homework doesn't get neglected in favor of evening screen and social time
is critical.
10. Teach your tween good physical self-management:
at least nine hours of sleep every night, regular protein and low
glycemic snacks, regular exercise. Instilling these habits can take
real creativity on the part of parents, but they greatly reduce
moodiness and you’ll be happy they’re well-established when your child
hits the teen years.
11. Don't be surprised if your preteen son or daughter develops some anxiety or dependency. It's
not at all unusual for preteens to get scared by all the changes in
their bodies, the peer pressures to grow up, or the fear of separating
from mom and dad. This is most often expressed as separation or sleep
anxiety, and if you empathize and let them cling to you a bit, will not
last long.
12. Be aware of the special needs of your son or
daughter as they grow into adults in a culture that perpetuates
unhealthy attitudes about men, women, and sexuality.
Girls
will need your help handling media images of women, cultural
expectations about attractiveness, the pressure to be sexy, her
relationship with food, and her body. Remember that girls naturally
fill out before they shoot up, and be careful not to impose society's
insistence that only thin is attractive. Notice any issues you have as
her body blossoms. Be aware of the research showing that most tween
girls are very anxious about the bodily changes ahead and the sense
they have from the media that becoming a woman puts them in danger from
men. Girls particularly need their fathers to continue offering
physical hugs and open admiration for what a beautiful daughter they
have, in an atmosphere of total safety and appropriate boundaries.
Boys
need help integrating their sense of connection, tenderness and
vulnerability -- which are a part of all human relationships -- with
societal images of manliness. It's normal for boys approaching their
teen years to act cool, indifferent, and invulnerable with their peers,
even when they're actually highly sensitive kids. A responsible,
affectionate father or uncle can be a critical teacher as a tween boy
learns how to be a good man -- while fitting in with the guys. And mom
needs to keep warmly talking and listening with her son about his interests and experiences, while staying aware that he needs to see himself as competent and independent
in solving his own problems.
