Middle School: Tips for Helping Your Child Adjust

Middle school can be a trying time. This is that age when children start to change from little kids to adults, and they have something of a battle going on inside them. Peers start to mean more, and parents may feel they are losing their influence. But there are some things you can do to help make it easier. Here are some tips for helping your child adjust to middle school.

Talk to Your Child

Have you tried asking your child some questions about his or her concerns about starting middle school? Try having a conversation where you don’t judge or show big reactions, and see if you can discern some of the things she’s concerned about. Try to phrase things positively, putting yourself in the position of helper not critic.

Remember Where Your Child’s Mind Is

You may be thinking only of academic performance and how this new stage will affect it, but did you stop to think about what your child is thinking about most? Do you remember what you were thinking about the most when you were in middle school?

Most kids this age are thinking about their friends, their looks, and boys/girls (whatever the opposite sex is). In other words, they are really much more focused on the social scene and what others think about them than they are about grades. This doesn’t mean you should let grades slide; it just helps you understand why their mindset seems to be changing. It is!

Tour the School

Just like for younger kids getting ready to start Kindergarten, your middle school student will be attending a new place with new teachers and classrooms. He will have lots of teachers – a different one for each subject – rather than one teacher all day.

So take your child for a tour of the school before the first day to help him get oriented. It can be overwhelming to change classes for the first time, trying to find the right classroom, the cafeteria, and so forth. You can help take some of the edge off by touring the school first.

Don’t Change Everything

This is a time of big upheaval for your child. Try to keep some of those comforting family routines and rituals in place as the middle school years roll around. Your child may not act like she values these traditions, but they can really help keep her secure and grounded in the middle of all the change.

Tweet: Middle school muddle? Help your child adjust to this significant transition with these practical tips. LINK