Blisstree » pre-teen

She’s Growing Up

Eliza Ferree — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 04:06:27 +0000

Tonight I learned a lesson in parenting, the one where you learn that your child is ready to move on. You know to grow up and no longer be your baby. What happened? While it was a fun night of excitement and laughter there was a bit of sadness mixed in when my oldest daughter (8 year old) told me she didn’t want to do something.

The Life of a Home Mom

Yes, this is a normal child thing but for me it was more than that. I didn’t understand why she didn’t want to do this thing. It was something she’d always loved to do, she always jumped at it before. I was puzzled and a little hurt by this, I quickly thought of the Grinch and how my heart must’ve shrank a bit. In the end she told me, “Mom, that’s for little kids. I’m not a kid anymore.”

I won’t lie, it stung. But for me the stinger was more of my own feelings, I knew she was right and she was getting older. Why is it so hard to let them grow up? Why is it so hard to not want to do those cute things with them that they always loved and to hear they don’t like them anymore? I know why, because we are parents and we still remember the yesterdays of their childhood. While they are rushing to get older and move forward, we are wanting to freeze time and just watch, to hold that moment in just a little longer. We know our children will grow up and move on, we want this to last as long as possible.

In the end she did do the one tiny favor I wanted, she got a picture with a character at a show and made my day. Course I guess we’ll realy see how that picture turned out. At the end of the night though, she ran up to me and hugged and kissed me, “Mom I still love you and I had a BALL tonight.” My heart recovered from the earlier shrinkage.

Have you been through this? How did you handle it? I don’t think I’m ready for these guys to get older, I guess it’ll be one step (very tiny) at a time.

Post from: Blisstree

She’s Growing Up

Setting Boundaries For Your Child

Eliza Ferree — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:59:13 +0000

My son is reaching that age of pre-teen, which of course means he is wanting to do those things that I’m simply not ready for. Honestly, he’s probably been at the age for a while but for me it is hard. Yes, I’m one of “those” moms, the protective type.

sxc.hu

Today we got the older two new bikes, yes they had old bikes but to be honest we think they were too big for them. We’ve lived here a year and hadn’t updated the bikes and they’ve been gathering dust and rust. Now BalletGirl’s ( age 8 ) bike was passed down to her younger sister but she still needed a new one. Bringing home the bikes also got the question of do we allow him to hang out with his friends and if so what are the limits. We live on a cul-de-sac and on one side is a busy highway, the other is less traffic but still pretty busy. So we’ll have to judge that depending on whom he is wanting to hang with.

How did you determine limits for your children when they wanted to venture away from home? What restricitions and rules did you set up, I know I’m not the only parent like this. Thank you in advance.

Post from: Blisstree

Setting Boundaries For Your Child

She’s 8, But Wants to be 18

Eliza Ferree — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:41:49 +0000

Why is it my 8 year old daughter can’t wait to grow up? She’s constantly talking about boys, which I can go with. But when she starts talking about getting a boyfriend and getting married or even having kids my stomach gets all turned in knots. Kids these days are growing up so fast that it makes me question why.

As an 8-year-old I remember running around to spend the night at my best friend Stacy’s house or hanging in my bedroom with Barbies. How many of you remember those days? Things were just a bit more innocent, there were years before we’d even begin worrying about our future.

Today little girls hang out at the school and talk about which boys they’d like to marry, this starts around kindergarten. I kid you not. I’ll never forget the first time my now 8-year-old came home telling me she was “in love” with such and such. In just the few short years she’s been in school she’s came home talking about SEX, you know that dreaded topic we aren’t suppose to have to worry about until they are older. Well, she’s told me that she wants to kiss such and such, that when she gets older she’ll put her tongue in some guy’s mouth, or the worse part was when she told me about how when she becomes a wife she’ll get undressed and she and her husband will have sex and they’ll be naked. I won’t go any further.

How is it she knows all this stuff? Before one thinks it is me, we make sure not to do ANYTHING until ALL the kids are sleeping soundly.

So, what is it? It’s school. We don’t have TV except for movies we rent. Plus she told me her best friend just had her period and has been telling her all about it, so she can’t wait to have that now. Man, she better hope she doesn’t get cramps that come along with it. Then she’ll be wishing she was staying young forever. Is your little girl or guy wanting to grow up too fast? Any recommendations? You can’t say an all girl’s school, the hubby is already considering it.

Post from: Blisstree

She’s 8, But Wants to be 18

Anger in Our Teens and in Ourselves

admin — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:13:14 +0000

Katie is a 9th-grader and has been feeling that nothing is worth it anymore. As hard as she tries, she just doesn’t seem to fit in. The day before she had tried out for the school play, but when she got on stage, she froze up and just stopped in the middle of her audition. Now, everyone in the school must know about it and Katie is sure they’re laughing at her. She’ll never let them know how bad she feels. She knows what they’re thinking and they’re right — she isn’t good enough and she’ll never fit in. Katie hates them all.

The article goes on to look at other examples of anger in teens that you will likely be able to identify with, but it was the list of questions at the end of the article that I found most helpful. I tend to fly off the handle quite easily and these questions will help me as well! Here’s the biggy for me… “Are my expectations unreasonable?”

So, it seems that you are never too old to learn something about dealing with your emotions!

Healthy Anger: How to Help Children and Teens Manage Their Anger
Handling Anger in Our Teens

Post from: Blisstree

Anger in Our Teens and in Ourselves

Your tweens are going to love this!

admin — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:58:53 +0000

Now I think that this should meet with approval. What kid wouldn’t want to curl up and watch a movie with all of these goodies? And there is just something about gift baskets that are so fun to rummage through.

*Movie Night Gift Basket

Post from: Blisstree

Your tweens are going to love this!

I have another stocking stuffer idea for you!

admin — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 15:26:30 +0000

Believe it or not, this scent has been around since the seventies, but your teens probably won’t know that, so you are safe. And it had the most gorgeous scent… soft and powdery! While it won’t be sophisticated enough for my “ultra sophisticated daughter” , it would be ideal for a young teen!

*LOVES BABY SOFT by Mem COLOGNE 1 oz for Women

Post from: Blisstree

I have another stocking stuffer idea for you!

Half Eaten Gingerbread Men

admin — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:08:09 +0000

Okay, they aren’t exactly half eaten, but it does look as if someone has taken a bite out of them. And I’m thinking that if you want a little help with your holiday baking, the teens in your household, would probably think that these are quirky enough to offer a little help. Now, I’m not saying that they will help with the cleanup, but you can’t expect miracles lol…

Bitten Gingerbread Cookier Cutters

Post from: Blisstree

Half Eaten Gingerbread Men

Hard to Buy For Teens

admin — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 12:31:27 +0000

You might not be there yet, but there will come a time when you simply can’t come up with anything to satisfy that special teen in your life. So, what can be better than all the fixing for ice cream sundaes and if she needs any help creating her own decadent desserts, there are also books on the topic!!

I am pretty sure that you will find yourself with one very happy teen and the fact that it is minus five hundred outside, won’t matter a bit!

*Soda Fountain Classics: Ice Cream, Sundaes, Milkshakes, and More

*Alaska Dessert Cups – Set of 6 By Bormioli Rocco

Post from: Blisstree

Hard to Buy For Teens

Have you lost any Christmas presents yet??

admin — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 01:01:09 +0000

I have done it on more than ne occasion. I remember one year when I picked up a special Blue Jay (baseball team) clock for Britt’s room and hid it in the linen closet. I think that I picked it up during the summer months, giving me lots of time to completely forget about it… which I did!

I think that she finally got it a year later when I accidently found it. Now, we have a shelving unit down in the basement and as I buy items, they are stored on the bookshelves. You have to remember that my kids are older, so leaving their (gift wrapped Christmas presents out in full view, doesn’t cause a problem. I couldn’t have done this when they were younger.

But the point of the post is to designate one spot in your house for Christmas presents… so they don’t get lost!

Post from: Blisstree

Have you lost any Christmas presents yet??

What kids really want for Christmas

admin — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 16:18:25 +0000

They might say that they want the latest toys and in my case the most expensive cars, but if you brought up the topic around the dinner table at night and asked them what was really important, you might be surprised at what they come up with. Think back to your own Christmases as you were growing up. Is it the toys that you remember or is it something else??

Personally, I remember…

*skating in our backyard,
*cups of cocoa
*all the Christmas specials on TV
*shopping on festive streets
*listening to Christmas music
*our yearly visit to the relatives who lived far away
*and the huge Christmas dinner mom would always make

See, I don’t even remember what I got for Christmas. It was all of the above that made the hugest impact! What made Christmas special for you??

*It’s a Wonderful Life for Kids, Too

Post from: Blisstree

What kids really want for Christmas