And while she is somewhat annoying, boisterous and moody, she is also... dare I say it... pretty cool.

I know! Who knew this would be on the horizon? And the best thing about having a ten-year-old is that they are between the difficult toddler/early childhood years and teenagerhood.

You get this lovely time with them before they get moodier as well as enjoy the aftermath of when they didn’t know how to wipe their bum and thought smearing their face in food was fun!

Here are a few more reasons why 10-year olds are cool:

Conversation starters – No joke, these 10-year olds are well able to discuss things in an incredible “adulty” manner and they aren’t afraid to be opinionated either. They have spent some time in school and as well as learning every day they are paying attention to the world around them. This makes them great conversationalists and they are so eager to learn too which is inspiring. My kid told me last week how “expect the unexpected” was purely a contradictory term and went on to justify her reasoning and it blew my mind! 

Independent but not too much – Yes, they have this lovely maturity showing itself in parts but also the vulnerability in that they still want their mum and dad to help them. They still want to have their parents collect them from school (if possible) and while they may not cuddle you on meeting, they will be pleased to see you. You may get to read them bedtime stories still and they will think their parents are cool-ish! This will change rapidly though – be warned!

Funny and entertaining – Ten-year-olds are fun, and they love laughing and joking. They are at the age where they will still laugh at themselves and be silly. Furthermore, they won’t mind Mum and Dad being silly either. They will laugh along with you and be happier when you are near them to have fun with. The legendary “eye rolling” teenagers are prone to will not have started and that is why you should enjoy ten!

Kind and considerate – While they are all different for the most part, ten-year-olds haven’t lost their sensitivity to people and they know how to empathise. They are softer too and though you may not know it, they will cry at animals getting hurt or seeing a family member sad. Ten-year-olds don’t like letting people down and will be mad at themselves when they get in trouble as they really do love and care about their family.

They know how to be big when needed – You can rely on your ten-year-old, they will mind younger siblings or cousins while you check the dinner. They will enjoy the importance of getting older and they want to be bigger and act accordingly. The more little jobs you give them the more they will surprise you.

It is a great age and while I hate that my kids are growing older quicker, I love seeing them grow. It is a huge privilege.