Parenting Through the Middle School Years: Practical Tips for Success
(Inside: Parenting your kids through middle school years can be tough. Here’s a heartfelt story and practical tips to help.)
The middle school years are for grace.
And I don’t say that lightly. Because I was the middle schooler who took everything out on my family, especially my mom. I broke the rules and pelted attitude. I daily sent lightning bolts through our home, causing pain. It really is true that the person who can hurt you the most is your own child.
But my parents got me through. Truly. They moved me from miserable back to the happy childhood girl they knew by the time I entered high school. Even though in the moment, my parents felt like they were failing, the core of them beat what middle school was for, and they trusted their gut.
They constantly chased these truths…
The middle school years are for parents to pursue their kids.
Plan family activities, invite kids to run errands, be around to catch them when they’re chatty, cheer kids on at their activities, invite their opinions, and invest in their lives. Because every middle schooler needs someone who shows them, tells them, then shows-them-some-more they’re important, valued, and wanted.
The middle school years are for adjusting routines.
Kids thrive with structure. A family rhythm where everyone knows expectations and happenings helps everyone feel safe. Family meetings and updating routines for the growing kids give everyone a chance to be heard, learn to work together, and reduce conflict.
The middle school years are for reminding kids they are people of integrity.
With kindness, but firmness, hold kids accountable. Help them understand all choices have consequences and let those fall like dominoes, so they learn their actions matter. When it’s all tumbling everywhere, remind kids who they are: good humans getting through a tough season.
The middle school years are for assuring kids it’s going to be okay.
My parents normalized my big feelings. They told me it was fine to feel sad, frustrated, left out, confused, upset, anxious, the whole roller coaster because I was growing and learning. They invited conversations, fought for a stable home life to cushion me, and even took me to see a counselor for extra support.
The middle school years are for all those things, but what makes it all work, what keeps everyone afloat, is dunking each piece of the chapter in grace. Salty wide waves and stunning depths of generous grace. Yes, for the kids who find life hard, but also for parents who are trying, hurting, regrouping, and trying again.
Grace.
Keep moving forward, operating from a place of hope.
Shopping for your family?
Best Booklist for High School Teenagers
Best Booklist for Middle School Tweens
Inspirational Books Moms Will Love to Read
Gift Ideas for Moms of Tweens and Teens
Gift Ideas for Teenage Boys
Gift Ideas for Teenage Girls
Gift Ideas for Dads
45+ Inexpensive Stocking Stuffers for Tweens and Teens
Easter Baskets Stuffer Ideas for Big Kids
Dorm Room Essentials
And so many more great lists of must-haves built just for families of big kids on Empowered Moms and Kid’s specialized Amazon Affiliate Storefront…
Join this community of moms parenting big kids.
Your brain bounces between your day at work, what time(s) your kids need to be at practice, your teen’s missing school assignments, that you haven’t called your mom lately, the load of the laundry to be switched, “What’s for dinner?” and “Why are 3 of my brain-tabs frozen?”
You are raising tweens and teens and college-age kids – the unique parenting phase where everything gets easier…and harder.
Join our community of raising big kids and get occasional email encouragements in your inbox including instant access to the freebie library. It’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Cheryl is a mom of 3 boys, wife, speaker, high school teacher, and author of Empowered Moms & Kids. She has a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and is passionate about learning and teaching. On www.empoweredmomsandkids.com you’ll find inspiration and encouragement for moms raising tweens and/or teens. Read more in the “about” section of this page.
