Teen and Tween Round-up: Rites of passage

This month we’ve got students settling into university, lots of teen and tween rites of passage and even an early start on the Christmas shopping. This is what our teens and tweens have been up to lately…

A new blogger to the round-up is 3 Princesses and 1 Dude. She’s written this entertaining post on 15 things you can expect tweens to do before they even leave primary school. How many do you agree with? I’m very pleased to say none of mine were that bad!

I love this post from Tara at Sticky Fingers about her little girl growing up. She’s been a tomboy all her life and all of a sudden she’s wearing fashionable clothes to walk in the forest and worrying about her hair.

And if you’re stuck for Christmas presents for your own tweens, or your tween nieces and nephews, Tara has very helpfully come up with gift guides for 12 year old boys and 9 year old girls. As the mum of 11 and 13 year old boys and an 8 year old girl, I am totally nicking her ideas!

Sleepovers are a rite of passage for teens and tweens, but for parents they’re nothing more than a massive headache. Suzanne at 3 Children and It shares the rules of a sleepover. Unfortunately for us parents, they’re the kids’ rules, not hers. Because parents’ rules fall completely on deaf ears when it comes to sleepovers…

Q: When is a harmless comedy not a harmless comedy? A: When you see it through 12 year old eyes. Suzanne’s daughter at 3 Children and It has started watching the ‘harmless’ Friends, and Suzanne is starting to realise it’s not as tame as she thought it was. How do we make the transition from kids watching children’s programmes to watching adult TV?

Girl J at Cotton Wool and Eggshells is 12 and suffering from anxiety. Her mum shares the story of a particularly difficult weekend. It’s not an easy read, but she would be very grateful for any advice on dealing with violent outbursts in children.

Over at MumofThree World, my younger son has just turned 11. He’s had a really good few months, so I wrote this post for him reflecting on his life so far.

Do you remember the excitement of going to town with your friends as a teenager? My 13 year old son has just discovered this. At MumofThree World, I’m reminding him of some of the pitfalls because, sadly, the world will always assume he’s out to cause trouble.

Polka Dots and Cups of Tea is another new blogger to the round-up. I love this happy, positive post about her 15 year old daughter – who has suddenly returned to the real world from the dark depths of teen-dom. It’s reassuring to know there is light at the end of the tunnel and it might come sooner than we think!

I love this post from Best Dad I Can Be on whether dads should keep kissing their teenage sons. What do you think?

Carolynne at Mummy Endeavours has a fight on her hands because her teenage son is determined to get a moped when he turns 16 and she really doesn’t want him to! Has anyone else been through this? Have you got any advice for Carolynne?

Sonya at Rock ‘n’ Roll Mum is currently checking out universities for next year with her 18 year old daughter. It’s tough knowing you have to let your child go, and they might be moving a long way from home, but I love Sonya’s calm and reasoned approach.

I’m sharing another fabulous post from Sonya this month too – when sleepovers grow up! Yes, her daughter’s boyfriend is staying over and she’s doing a very good job of being sensible about it. I hope we can all deal with it so well when the time comes.

Over at Quirky Kook, Jodie’s teenage daughters have recently flown the nest to university. Have a giggle at this open letter to one of her daughters. Is it possible to survive all term on Muller Rice and chocolate?!

Izzie Anderton has been a part of pretty much every teen and tween round-up since we started, but it’s the end of an era. Her daughters have turned 20, so this will be the last time we hear from her here (although do keep reading her blog anyway, it’s very good!). Over the last year, her daughters have really grown up and are starting to say and do things she would never have thought possible.

About Sarah Wood

Sarah is mum to a teenage boy and a tween boy and girl. When it comes to primary school stuff, she's got it sussed. But she's realising that as secondary school and puberty hit, she's still got a lot to learn! Between tweeting, blogging and parenting, Sarah is a freelance PR and copywriter, who still finds time to run long distances and eat a lot of chocolate. It doesn't leave much time for housework.

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