Middle School -

The Difficult Years

What's going on?

If you have chidren in middle school, you're probably wondering -- what happened to my angels?

It's not uncommon for grades to drop during the middle years. An interest in the social aspects of school, coupled with changing hormones, make it easy for kids to lose their academic focus.

It's a difficult time for your children. It's a difficult time to be parents.

You have to stay alert. You don't want to dismiss as normal what could actually be the beginnings of drug or alcohol abuse.

Here are five tips to make these years more manageable:

1. Set reasonable limits. Although your children may protest, they actually prefer stable rules.

2. Establish a set time to do homework. Otherwise, they'll put it off as they focus on their friends.

3. Make sure they're supervised. Adult images are readily available to children through television, movies, the Internet, and even cell phones. Don't assume they still view themselves as the children.

4. Don't give in to adult peer pressure. Decide what is appropriate for your children and stick to it.

5. Give them room to develop, but not too much room. They're not children anymore, but they're also not yet adults.

These are just a few tips you can use to make these years less difficult for your children and your family.

Return from Middle School to Study Skills Tips.