Tips for navigating thorny social issues for tweens
If you're looking for a few simple strategies that will help you guide your tween through these difficult social years, read on...
Navigating social issues when you’re a tween can be challenging. Friendships at this point in life are so important, because tweens are preparing to pull away from their parents, and they need the acceptance and support of their friends as they do. While parents of young children can resort to hovering, parents of tweens need a better go-to strategy for helping them work through social issues.
Here are three suggestions for parents of tweens who are having trouble navigating tricky social issues:
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Pay attention
As they learn to untangle difficult issues, our children require our assistance. Allow them to speak their minds without interrupting, scolding, or offering unsolicited advice.
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Assist your tween in becoming self-aware
One of the most valuable gifts we can give our children is the ability to understand their own hearts. The better the choices our children make, the more we help them develop the ability to tune in to their own wisdom.
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Allow your tween to experience sadness
As painful as it is to see our children struggle, sometimes all we can do is offer them a shoulder to cry on.
