The evolution of this world into a modern one brought many significant changes in humanity—from the Stone Age to the Age of Computers and now the Internet, so many things have indeed changed. In the olden times, children play with traditional toys such as dolls and homemade toys like kites and cars made of cans. They communicate to their parents and other people by starting up a conversation or sending snail mails. Fast forward to the present era and what do you see?

Televisions, computers, cell phones, tablet pcs, toys operating on batteries or electricity, and the list goes on. Several decades ago, having a gadget that could do almost everything with just a tap of a finger was just a dream. With the genius minds and skillful hands of technology innovators, we now have the iPad, iPhone, tablets and other high-tech devices that have made our lives easier, more convenient and faster. This is what they call the Digital Age, and we’re all living now in a Digital World.

Along with the Digital Age revolutionizing our way of living comes with some disadvantages—losing our grip on our privacy, safety and even health. In the recent years, there have been hundreds of reports about the cases of children being bullied on social networks. As a result, some kids commit suicide. On the other hand, the Internet has also paved the way for predators to lurk on social networking sites victimizing unsuspecting teens. Sexual assaults and abuses have also been committed via texts and e-mails. Our Facebook posts about our exact locations could also lead to something unfortunate like theft and other crimes.

Children and teenagers get hooked in front of the flat screen TV or the laptop’s monitor for hours every day, making them forget that they have homework to do and household chores to accomplish. Families also tend to lose bonding moments and quality time because everyone in the family is busy entertaining herself or himself with his or her new gadget.

As a parent, you have the responsibility to guide your young ones regarding the proper usage of technology. There’s nothing wrong in using Twitter or uploading pictures in Tumblr, just make sure that your child knows his or her limitations when it comes to posting personal information in the virtual world. Technology is a powerful tool which can be compared to a double-bladed knife—it can be beneficial and at the same time harmful, so take time to be with your children and teach them the right way to make use of these advancements.

Unlike before, tweens (kids ages 9-12) now have easy access to the internet. Because of this, parents should take time to talk to their kids about the proper and safe use of the internet. While the World Wide Web provides us with extreme accessibility and utmost convenience, safety issues has become a growing concern amongst parents of tech-savvy tweens. Pre-teens or kids in middle school utilize the internet to do a variety of tasks including:

• schoolwork
• playing online games
• researching
• emailing
• music downloading/streaming
• instant messaging
• shopping, and a lot more

Since kids spend a lot of time in the internet they can easily find their way around it. While their knowledge about the internet may be extensive, they are not mature enough to make good judgment calls. Tweens, although they do not wish to be treated like little kids anymore, are still, afterall, vulnerable children who are incapable of controlling their impulses. Most often than not, they do things on impulse. Therefore, it is really important that parents guide their children to ensure that they will nog get into any kind of trouble when using the internet.

If you think that allowing your tweens to use the internet without proper supervision is alright, then you should think again. Tweens still lack maturity and are therefore vulnerable to a lot of things online. To help you get a better picture of how unsafe the internet can be to tweens, here are some of the common online threats to pre-teens or middle school users.

• Cyberbullies
• Sexual predators
• Online Fraud
• Indecent photo uploads
• Illegal downloading
• Meeting or chatting with shady individuals

The internet does not set limitations on the content and information that tweens can access. In addition, since young people pay great importance to socializing, their interactions online can become really intense. The things they post in their blogs or other things they put on their social media profiles (i.e. pictures) may also be used against them. Therefore, it is vital that you teach your children not to reveal too much on the internet. Also, tell them not to share information with people they just met online.

Tweens are entering a transitional phase wherein they are curious about a lot of things, and the internet can get them overly excited. Therefore, before they get into trouble, monitoring their internet activity wouldn’t be such a bad idea but just make sure that you do not overdo it to the point of invading their privacy.

Middle school typically refers to the transition phase between elementary school and high school, and usually spans the ages 9-14 years old. As this level of schooling coincides with the start of early adolescence, it is usually a very taxing time for both the child and the parents. This period is generally marked by changes in attitudes, emotional responsiveness and social behavior on the part of the middle school kid, all of which may be daunting for any parent. Thus, there is a need for parents and educators alike to make an effort to understand how middle school kids think and feel, if they are to foster a healthy relationship between them. It is true that understanding transitioning tweens is not as easy as picking a policy from Sovereign Insurance. But this is crucial stage in your child’s life and they will surely need you more than ever.

According to a research done by a leading child psychologist, middle-schoolers typically display egocentric behavior. They tend to assume that the world revolves around them, and usually becomes more self-conscious, especially regarding other people’s opinion of them. It is also found that middle-school kids are already able to practice deductive reasoning, symbol manipulation and object classification.

Due to the rapid changes in your child’s physical, mental and emotional capacities, parents of middle school kids should expect an assertion of freedom and independence from the child. Parents are enjoined to carefully monitor this stage, since this is when kids start to demand more liberty to decide, and this is when the child’s principles and beliefs are slowly being developed.

In the final analysis, gaining an understanding of your middle-school kid will make for an easier time for both parties when the child finally reaches the dreaded teenage years. While it is true that middle schoolers can be unpredictable and dealing with them is more difficult than applying for a life insurance, with patience and understanding you and middle school child will definitely pass this stage with flying colors.

Tweens is a term used to refer to kids (ages 9-12) who are transitioning to the pre-adolescent stage. The tween years will surely be a challenging transitional phase for the kids, and as parents, you need to help them easily cope with the physical and emotional changes that they have to go through while they transition from childhood to adulthood. Tweens are not the only ones who will have a difficult time adjusting during their pre-adolescent years. In fact, parents will go through tough times as well since tweens can get all grumpy and moody so this stage will certainly test your patience. But, this is not the time to fall short of it since your kids will need your support and guidance more than ever during their tween years.

What tweens really need from their parents at this stage is their patience and understanding. Parents should guide their kids as they go through puberty. As parents, you will have to explain to them what’s going on – the dramatic physical transformation as well as the emotional and sexual changes that are all taking place at the same time.

Dealing with tweens is perhaps the greatest challenge for parents. But it is important that parents closely guide pre-teens to ensure that they will be able to successfully pass through the pre-puberty stage. If they fail to guide tweens at this crucial stage in their lives, it is likely that they will take refuge from their peers who can pressure them to do drugs and drink alcohol. In addition, some may even demonstrate self-destructive behavior to get notice or to grab attention.

How Parents Should Deal With Tweens

Rather than scold them or argue with them, it would be best to continue giving positive feedbacks to pre-teens. Tell them that they are great just the way they are. At this stage, pre-teens are struggling to find their true self and amidst all the overwhelming changes happening in their lives (physically and emotionally, it is likely that they will lose sense of themselves. Pre-teens are entering a very fragile transitional phase, and they really need their parents to be there with them every step of the way.

At this critical developmental phase, it is vital to keep the communication line wide open. Parents must learn to embrace the changes that are taking place. You have to accept that your little angel has now turned into a matured adult who is already capable of making decision for himself/herself. Instead of being nostalgic, you have to embrace who they are today and not who they used to be.

While tweens are definitely going through a fragile state, you should never allow them to push your buttons. Never condone unacceptable behavior. Although you want to walk a mile on their shoes (in order to understand and relate to them), it is important that you act as parents and not as their friends. Enforce rules and set limits but not to the point of suffocating them. Most importantly, you need to give them enough freedom (not too much) and also learn to respect their privacy.

Young boys and girls going through puberty are a complicated and often moody bunch. They are reaching that stage in their lives where a lot is going on. Referred as tweens, kids transitioning to the pre-adolescent phase are basically caught in two worlds – they are too young to be considered teens but they are not kids anymore either. Of all people, parents should understand what tweens (a term referring to preteens) are going through. You have also gone through the pre-teens stage and you surely had a hard time dealing with this crucial developmental phase in life.

As parents, you need to put yourself in the shoes of your kids to be able to easily relate to them. It is true that kids today are different from the past generations. Because of this, most of the time, parents and pre-teens don’t usually get to agree on things. If your kids are approaching the transitional phase of development (called as the pre-puberty stage), then they are not only dealing with external changes but also internal changes as well.

We know for a fact that the arrival of relevant hormones can have a direct effect on one’s emotions and moods. Just imagine, powerful doses of testosterone and estrogen running through your body. They are developing not just physically but also intellectually, emotionally and mentally.

One of the challenges that tweens will likely face these days is the fear of rejection. At this stage, the rules of ‘being cool’ has changed. Their friends are beginning to change as well. They begin to feel deep attraction towards the opposite sex. On top of this, their physical appearance is also dramatically transforming. They start to pay great importance on how they look. They also become too concerned about how others will perceive of them. The possibility of getting rejected and becoming socially isolated also increases at this stage.

Tweens are usually consumed by their desire to be one with the herd. They are at that stage in life wherein they crave for attention and recognition. Some pre-teens, particularly the weaker ones, worry about bullying in school. Bullying is very common especially in middle school. This issue, as a matter of fact, has become a great concern among parents. There have even been reports of tweens committing suicide because of too much bullying in school.

Transitioning from childhood to adulthood is a tough time for tweens. That’s why some eventually give in to the challenges and pressures. For this reason, tweens may also have to battle with depression. Pre-adolescence can put tweens in a great deal of pressure, and this can significantly increase their anxiety level. Though it is quite hard to believe that kids as young as nine years old can suffer depression, it is very much possible, especially in today’s generation. Tweens, these days, mature so quickly that they even start dating at a very young age. The dating scene can, therefore, bring more anxiety to their life and thus increasing the possibility of getting depressed. For the parents, it is important that you are aware of the signs of depression so you can easily help your kids overcome and cope with the situation without having to resort to medications or therapy.