On Becoming Preteen Wise : Parenting Your Child from 8-12 Years

On Becoming Preteen Wise : Parenting Your Child from 8-12 Years
ISBN: 9780971453241
Publication Date: 1 April 2017

The middle years, 9 to 12 years of age, are perhaps the most significant attitude-forming period in the life of a child. It is during this time that the roots of moral character are established. From the foundation that is formed, healthy or not-so-healthy family relationships will be built. During the preteen years, patterns of conduct are firmly established patterns that will impact your parent-child relationship for decades to come. Rightly meeting the small challenges of the middle years significantly reduces the likelihood of big challenges in the teen years.

'On Becoming Preteenwise' is based on the familiar axiom that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It is much easier to avoid making mistakes than it is to correct them after the fact. This is particularly true of parenting. Just ask any mother or father continually challenged by a contentious or rebellious teen. Given a choice to go back and start over, would they work toward prevention or maintaining the status quo and managing in a crisis?

It is our firm conviction that rightly meeting the small challenges of the middle years significantly reduces the likelihood of big challenges in the teen years. In other words, the groundwork you lay today will impact your relationship with your children in their teens and even long after they're grown. Therefore, this book is as much about building a strong relationship with your middle-years child now, as it is about preventing serious teen-parent conflicts in the future.

About the Authors

Gary Ezzo, M.A. serves as the executive director of Growing Families International. He and his wife Anne Marie have spoken to millions of mothers, fathers, educators and medical clinicians through their best-selling books and weekend seminar...