One of the most crucial times for a young girl’s social development is her middle school years. This is the time when she starts to establish peer relationships and it is also the period when developmental issues begin to emerge. Problems or issues about self-esteem may also arise during this time. Other concerns involving control and power may also materialize as your girl enters the middle school years.

To know if your daughter is experiencing poor social development, take a look at the following signs:

• She has no friends or inconsistent in her friendships.
• Loses her identity when she’s with her friends.
• Can’t make eye contacts with other people.
• She has poor hygiene as compared to other middle school students.
• Overly concerned with the opposite sex or displays intense sexual behavior.

Some of the most serious issues faced by middle school girls are:

• They may not be “social thinkers”.
• They could have learning or developmental disability.
• Some may have Asperger’s Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism.
• Your daughter may be a victim of bullying, verbal, physical or sexual abuse.

Remember that protecting your childrens health doesn’t only mean ensuring that they eat the right kinds of food. As parents, you should also be aware of the common social problems faced by middle school girls. Help address these issues by consulting a professional mental health personnel. You can also consider outside interventions to help your children. A good support or social group can provide the girls with the social skills that they need to maintain a healthy social life. Ultimately, the love and support of parents are important to ensure that their children grow the right way.

 

 

 

 

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Have you noticed that your middle school child seems unenthusiastic and pallid every time he comes home? According to research, depression is not only experienced by adults but also by the young ones. Middle school children suffer depression in their social life, self-esteem and schoolwork. Oftentimes, depression among children is mistaken for other problems like eating disorders and attention deficit disorder. If you want to know whether or not your child is undergoing this mental issue, take a look at the following symptoms:

• He has decreased interests on things he used to love
• Low energy
• Frequent crying
• Extreme sensitivity to rejection
• Poor social life
• Feelings of guilt
• Destructive ideas
• Thoughts and behaviors on suicide
• Physical ailments or frequent illnesses

Childhood depression may be caused by family, school and social problems. If you notice several of the mentioned symptoms on your child, seek for professional health assistance right away. You must accompany your son/daughter to a therapist or a licensed psychiatrist. Your child might be prescribed to take antidepressant medications or undergo depression management methods to help dissipate the condition. Above all, parental support is also indispensable when it comes to treating middle school depression among the young ones.

While understanding depression among middle school kid may not be as easy as picking great womens shorts, by doing your own research and by watching out for the aforementioned symptoms you will be able to know whether your child is suffering from it or not.

 

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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.

 

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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.

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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.

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