Big Kids

This episode is also known as the jackpot of parenting. Hear GREAT tips and encouragements from mothers, who have already walked through the middle school years with their kiddos.

I started the meeting by asking if I might give some perspective, noting that I had failed to offer them important insight to my child. Instead of assuming they knew what I did, I asked if they would allow me to help them understand my child so we could all work toward solutions.

Here are some questions to ask your child and some tips to handle this parenting season as you notice the changes happening right before your eyes.

We try to buy interesting, but not trendy, backpack patterns since these will last a little longer than one school year. May I suggest dark colors to hide the myriad of spills, markers, and ground crayons that will be absorbed? Similarly, get the good folders and the real pencils.

The academics, he mastered. He mastered them in a heartbeat. It was the "everything else" he wasn't mastering. The listening to directions, keeping hands to oneself, and keeping emotions in check were far from being mastered. We were on the verge of being kicked out of the employee daycare center. Our whole family seemed to be in a downward spiral, and we looked for something, anything, to stop it.

Public school might be the first time your kiddo experiences a cross section of society and has to navigate getting along with people who live a completely different life than he does. This little window of time can change absolutely everything.

'Twas the night before school starts and all through my home, nothing was quiet, not even my phone. The backpacks were packed and lined up by the door. New uniforms were strewn all over the floor.