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Middle School Blues
Helping Your Preteen Face the Challenges of Junior High
By Sharon Waldrop
Schulz learned not to ask too many questions about the goings on at school, because that seemed to touch a nerve, so she just lets her daughter "vent out" whenever she needs to.
Yet some issues require compromises.
Some students at her daughter's school have beepers and cell phones, but Schulz feels only people in business should have these and therefore will not purchase them for her daughter. "I tried to get used to the fact that kids today actually have these things, but I couldn't," she says.
She did, however, purchase a cordless telephone for her home so that her daughter could talk to friends in the privacy of her room. Another high-tech perk for her daughter was her own e-mail account. "The trade off was no beeper and no cell phone," Schulz says.
As long as parents stay involved with their children, they can help make the transition from elementary school to junior high an exciting and rewarding time. By taking into consideration what my daughter was experiencing during her first few weeks as an elementary school graduate, I helped her get her grades back up where they should be, while mentally counting the days until high school graduation in 2005.
