Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Parenting A Tween: Peer Pressure
Wednesday, April 29, 2015As if carrying our babies in our wombs isn't already hard enough, add on the labor pain and childbirth experience, the sleepless nights,...
As if carrying our babies in our wombs isn't already hard enough, add on the labor pain and childbirth experience, the sleepless nights, the swollen breasts due to feeding and the physical toll on us mothers, Parenting the children is one big task which will be taking over most of their growing up years with our children. That's why it's important to really be intentional and be in tune with our children, no matter how busy we could get.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. In fact, I'm humbled to be a mother of two boys with different personalities. I am also proud to have undergone whatever I've experienced and still experiencing with the loves of my life.
My kids are seven years apart, 11 and 4 years old. Sometimes, I'm like a yoyo when I hear myself disciplining the older one, then shifting to a gentler, higher- pitched (and always excited) voice to the little one, when he calls my attention. Parenting two kids of different phases could go crazy. But this time, I'd like to focus on my tween, Dandre who's undergoing some inevitable changes as he is soon to exit the later childhood stage and about to enter the adolescent stage.
My son has been playing basketball since he was six and that's all he wants to focus on until he grows older he said. He studies in a private school and is enrolled in basketball clinics (since he was six) to support his interest in the sport. We live in a residential area in Manila, in one of the busy and crazy barangays with a VERY diverse mix of people and economies. If I keep him very sheltered, I might be depriving him of experiencing the REAL world and learning how to make friends with people from different walks of life.
Making Friends.
He's made friends within the neighborhood when I allowed him for the first time to join the barangay league last year. But he was still too young for hardcore street basketball and didn't care much about fitting in the group. But now he's almost 12, fitting in and being liked matter more. Not that he's having a bad experience in this department, but as a parent, I felt the need to give him early warnings, tips, advice, and better understanding about the friendship topic.
I just want to share with you some advice I gave him during our talk
YOU DON'T NEED TO PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE ELSE TO FIT IN.
I told my son that he is special and unique. He is very talented and he's really kind. I also told him the positive things my friends tell me about him when they get to talk to him.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. In fact, I'm humbled to be a mother of two boys with different personalities. I am also proud to have undergone whatever I've experienced and still experiencing with the loves of my life.
My kids are seven years apart, 11 and 4 years old. Sometimes, I'm like a yoyo when I hear myself disciplining the older one, then shifting to a gentler, higher- pitched (and always excited) voice to the little one, when he calls my attention. Parenting two kids of different phases could go crazy. But this time, I'd like to focus on my tween, Dandre who's undergoing some inevitable changes as he is soon to exit the later childhood stage and about to enter the adolescent stage.
My son has been playing basketball since he was six and that's all he wants to focus on until he grows older he said. He studies in a private school and is enrolled in basketball clinics (since he was six) to support his interest in the sport. We live in a residential area in Manila, in one of the busy and crazy barangays with a VERY diverse mix of people and economies. If I keep him very sheltered, I might be depriving him of experiencing the REAL world and learning how to make friends with people from different walks of life.
Making Friends.He's made friends within the neighborhood when I allowed him for the first time to join the barangay league last year. But he was still too young for hardcore street basketball and didn't care much about fitting in the group. But now he's almost 12, fitting in and being liked matter more. Not that he's having a bad experience in this department, but as a parent, I felt the need to give him early warnings, tips, advice, and better understanding about the friendship topic.
I just want to share with you some advice I gave him during our talk
YOU DON'T NEED TO PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE ELSE TO FIT IN.
I told my son that he is special and unique. He is very talented and he's really kind. I also told him the positive things my friends tell me about him when they get to talk to him.
