Have you ever noticed that people generally stop sharing stories about their kids once they reach about 3 years old? It's like the child enters the dark ages between the ages of 3 and 11. Once the whole family is potty trained they simply go off the radar. They can now leave the house and stop asking for advice about teething or telling all about the potty training process. The time for sharing stories of all the funny little things your funny little guy does has come and gone. Questions that needed to be answered seem to cease to exist. This might cause one to think that once a child hits the age of 3 the parents must have become experts. That is, until a brand new set of questions and advice needed emerge upon the onset of puberty! Now, you’ll see an occasional picture of a milestone like the first day of school, but there must be something about getting through toddlerhood that graduates parents into a more secluded life.
I understand that. Most of the questions asked about raising kids are really about taking care of infants and toddlers. But my kids are in the dark ages (kindly nicknamed by yours truly), and have been for a while. Here’s a few questions I have had that aren’t really asked in the usual places:
How/when do I pull my child’s tooth?
How long should I expect my child to do homework every night?
How should I handle sleepovers when I have 3 kids?
Does my kid have too many chores?
Does my kid not do enough chores?
How come I am still repeating the same things to my child every. single. day. ?
Are my kids ever going to get along?
How do I make my kids close the door when they use the bathroom?
When should I expect to stop seeing tears every day?
Am I ever going to be done nagging?
If I stop nagging, will anything get done?
Am I doing this right?
These are some of the questions that go through my mind regularly, and I’m sure I could come up with more if I were convinced anyone was interested. But, like I said, there seems to be a lack of interest in this age group. I guess I should mention that my kids are 9, 7, and 7. Would you call them Pre-Tweens? Add that question to my list.
Now, just to clarify, I have obviously had to answer some of these questions on my own (tooth pulling would be one, you don't just let those loose teeth hang out in there forever!), but I don't come across too many articles on these topics!
So, this is to other parents in the dark ages: It might look scarce out there, but you’re not alone. Maybe its just the two of us, but you’re not alone! We’ll get through these dark ages and then maybe have something helpful to say to the next parents to transition from the information overload they receive at the onset of parenthood to these quiet and mysterious years. If not, then we’ll just be another group of parents keeping the dark ages dark.
Do you have Pre-Tweens? What are some of the questions you ask yourself regularly (and have you found the answers)?
I understand that. Most of the questions asked about raising kids are really about taking care of infants and toddlers. But my kids are in the dark ages (kindly nicknamed by yours truly), and have been for a while. Here’s a few questions I have had that aren’t really asked in the usual places:
How/when do I pull my child’s tooth?
How long should I expect my child to do homework every night?
How should I handle sleepovers when I have 3 kids?
Does my kid have too many chores?
Does my kid not do enough chores?
How come I am still repeating the same things to my child every. single. day. ?
Are my kids ever going to get along?
How do I make my kids close the door when they use the bathroom?
When should I expect to stop seeing tears every day?
Am I ever going to be done nagging?
If I stop nagging, will anything get done?
Am I doing this right?
These are some of the questions that go through my mind regularly, and I’m sure I could come up with more if I were convinced anyone was interested. But, like I said, there seems to be a lack of interest in this age group. I guess I should mention that my kids are 9, 7, and 7. Would you call them Pre-Tweens? Add that question to my list.
Now, just to clarify, I have obviously had to answer some of these questions on my own (tooth pulling would be one, you don't just let those loose teeth hang out in there forever!), but I don't come across too many articles on these topics!
So, this is to other parents in the dark ages: It might look scarce out there, but you’re not alone. Maybe its just the two of us, but you’re not alone! We’ll get through these dark ages and then maybe have something helpful to say to the next parents to transition from the information overload they receive at the onset of parenthood to these quiet and mysterious years. If not, then we’ll just be another group of parents keeping the dark ages dark.
Do you have Pre-Tweens? What are some of the questions you ask yourself regularly (and have you found the answers)?