Cry Baby or Pre-Teen
I have been through every age of raising children. I believe that those old sayings that teenagers and terrible two’s are the worst ages is WRONG, or they never had a 3 year old or pre-teen. My 2 year olds were fun and so are my teenagers.
3 year olds have all the terribleness of a 2 year old, but now they have a voice and attempt to DEMAND everything of you. Pre-teens are cry babies. Those crazy hormones start in around 8 years old and they become very emotional. Everything is beyond their emotional capabilities. It doesn’t end until they are teenagers!
My baby is in this age range now. She is very sensitive anyway. Her emotions are really bouncing around. She will cry over not being able to remember my Grandpa that passed away about 4 years ago. She cries over misplacing an item. She will cry over anything! It’s like Dr Seuss’s, Green Eggs and Ham book, will she cry over this or this or this. Will she cry here or there, will she cry anywhere?
Ever hear the old saying don’t cry over spilled milk, well I bet the one crying about the milk spilled was between the ages of 8 and 12. So you think you’re lucky, you have a son; HA HA HA, they do the same thing! My son was one of the worst. He was a big cry baby too. All pre-teens are cry babies.
This age group is starting to figure out the world and it scares them. They understand that things in movies can come true. They hear the evening news and realize bad guys are real. They are also still young enough and naïve enough to believe that if the movies are real then monsters must be too.
Pre-adolescents have the beginning of hormones starting to flood their bodies. They are starting to get stinky pits, maybe growing a few hairs in “odd” places. Boys stink worse than girls as a rule. This age tends to start the laziness of a teenager. Boo hoo hoo, I don’t want to, becomes the common phrase.
So what can you do to help this pre-teen and you survive? First of all turn off the news! Watch it somewhere else or stay up and watch the late news. The reality and negativity of the news overwhelms the pre-teens mind. Think of the entire news show, how many “happy” stories do you hear?
When there is big news that they are going to find out about it anyway, sit them down. Listen first to what they know. Remember just to answer questions they have and give as little details as possible. You wouldn’t go describing the act of sex to a pre-teen, don’t give more information then they NEED!
The second thing is to talk! Babies start babbling very young. My grandson is 3 weeks old and is already making noises. Grunts and groans of that sweet newborn soon become speech later on. Spend time talking and explaining to your pre-teen what is going on with them. Just TALK! It will pay off when they are older too! I can’t shut my teenagers up (not that I really want too). Communication is the most important part of raising a pre-teen.
The third thing is remember! Remember back to your days as a pre-teen. I am able to remember my parents getting into an argument and being scared that it meant divorce. They pre-teen mind isn’t grown enough to understand an argument doesn’t mean divorce. My mind at that age heard the anger in their voices and made me cry in fear. Remember back to how you felt at these ages.
As you remember think of how different society is at this age. As a pre-teen I ran the neighborhood from sunup to sundown all summer long. There is now way I would let my pre-teen run around like that now. Keep all this in mind as you think of what to talk about.
Pre-teens also have a GREAT sense of humor. They can find anything funny! Harness that and use it to your advantage. If you’re pre-teen is having an extra emotional day do something silly and watch that frown turn upside down. Enjoy your pre-teen the next few years speed by and before you know it your child is telling you it’s time for them to start their journey as a parent!
Preteens are crybabies!
