Tweens are of the age between 8-12 years old and they can be difficult years as your child grows out of their babyish ways and comes into their own.
Equally, though they are growing older, tweens still lack the skills to be able to have the things they would like.
This is the time when your child will want a phone, or they will be demanding to be allowed to walk home.
There are so many things to know about tweens - and we have you covered:
They are moody.
This stage of their life means they are “in the middle” and heading towards their teenage years, which means they can be moody. No moodier than teenagers though, and they will still be in that age of being apologetic when they do act up. However, teenagers tend to not care!
They are sweet.
While they are moody at times, they are still incredibly sweet and caring towards you. They will still like to spend time with their parents and will be delighted to see them on the school run (for a while anyway). They will see the good in people and they love nothing more than having fun. They can laugh at themselves, too!
They love “one on one” and alone time.
If your tween has siblings, you will find they behave best when alone with a parent. Basically, they love “one on one” time and enjoy the undivided attention it gives them. Equally, you may find your tween wants to spend more time in their bedroom, alone. Not because they are moody but because they like to sit, listen to music, draw or play their games console.
They will want more freedom.
As your tween hurtles towards their teenage years, you’ll find that they are more demanding of their freedom. They’ll ask to walk home with friends (though it wasn’t an issue before) or they’ll ask about going out alone with their pals. This is normal, but you still need to keep the boundaries as losing them now won’t help in the subsequent years ahead.
They don’t want to do chores.
You may find your enthusiastic child is gone! You know how you can get a younger child to clean their room and make it a game? Those days are gone, and your tween may not be interested in helping the household. Unfortunately, it is a phase most tweens go through, but it is important to keep them on course and insist chores must be completed no matter how annoyed they may get about it.
They are learning.
Tweens are at a pivotal stage of learning more and more about the world they live in. They are realising the dangers around them and this is the stage some kids become anxious or stressed. They have a lot to learn with school and activities, which is normal for tweens. You may notice how far your tween has come and be proud of their intelligence and talents as they grow into themselves.
They are going through a lot of changes.
Tweens are changing especially with puberty and whether your tween is a girl or a boy there are lots of changes ahead. It can be a confusing time and a time when they head towards the end of primary school for secondary school. Then you have a teen!