Tweens
We always figured \u201ctween\u201d was a catch-all marketing term for stuff with glitter on it. But since today\u2019s kids are going through puberty earlier than ever, the years between 9 and 12 can be plenty rocky. And then sometimes stuffed animals still. It\u2019s a mix.\nDr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, author of The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age, says it\u2019s important that we parents not take our tweens\u2019 sudden withdrawal as rejection:\n\nAll too often parents personalize some of the distance that occurs and misinterpret it as a willful refusal or maybe oppositional behavior.\n\nIn other words: sometimes tweens ask for love in the tweeniest of ways.\nIn this episode, we discuss:\n\nhow the way 9-11 year olds think actually changes from when they were younger\nthe importance of establishing a new-ish relationship with what Juliann Garey calls an \u201cupdated version of your kid\u201d\nhow to read between the \u201cget away from me Mom\u201d lines\nand why Margaret says parenting is like building a boat.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices