Questions tagged [middle-childhood]

Age specific questions from about 8 years to about 11 years. Younger: primary-schooler. Older: pre-teen.

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6 votes
2 answers
236 views

Help child dealing with soccer jock

My 10-year old started playing soccer about 6 months ago as the new kid in an existing team. His team gets along well for the most part and most the children know each other from school. As parents we ...
5 votes
2 answers
542 views

How to help my 11-year-old sister, who is terrified after watching a horror movie?

Context: at a birthday party my 11-year-old sister watched Annabelle and Annabelle 2. She told us later that even though she was frightened the whole time, she didn't want to stop watching, mainly as ...
17 votes
6 answers
2k views

Separated parents. As a dad, how do I exercise tough love without being the bad guy?

I am a father to a nine year old boy, I am separated from his mother and have been since before his birth. We don't really get on but we are civil for his sake and communicate maturely as and when it ...
0 votes
1 answer
923 views

11-year-old daughter is anxious, lying, and sexualising everything

Hi bit of a long post. My eleven-year-old daughter is currently waiting assessment with calms for anxiety. It’s been on going for years but starting high school really set it off again. She was ...
17 votes
2 answers
11k views

How can I get permission to take my child to Zambia against the wishes of the father?

I am a Zambian living in Canada . I met my son's father, we fell in love, had a child, got engaged, and then things didn’t work out so we separated. In fear of me leaving Canada, he filed for joint ...
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

My child's best friend's parent thinks my child is a bad influence

I have a middle schooler who is a nice but very introverted kid. She's smart, never gets in trouble at school, is nice to the kids who don't have a lot of friends, and is generous. Because of her ...
2 votes
3 answers
696 views

How to have the talk about budding erections

We have always been rather physical with our son. He likes to cuddle, get his back rubbed and his head massaged, he likes to wrestle and playfight. Now that he is getting older (10) he sometimes gets ...
3 votes
2 answers
726 views

Annoying kid at the park

My son is 9. He goes to a neighborhood park where he runs into an older kid (11) every now and then. Let's call this kid J. J is an extremely outgoing kid, who almost lives in the park. He has been ...
55 votes
8 answers
12k views

How can I handle kids telling me extremely boring stuff?

I have a 9 and a 12 year old. They'll (either one) get into a video game and then want to talk about it. Have you ever heard someone talk about, say, minecraft? first i got some oak sticks, but then ...
11 votes
7 answers
9k views

I don't know if my step-son hates me, is scared of me, or likes me?

My partner and kids have had issues in the past with previous partners/father figures, being abusive, selfish etc., which has left a mental scar on the 3 of them. I have not pried into it yet, as they ...
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

How do I tell my 9-year-old son that my now ex husband is not his biological dad?

I'm in a situation where I became pregnant with the wrong person and decided to raise my child by myself. Since before his 3rd birthday the biological dad disappeared and hasn't had anything to do ...
3 votes
1 answer
192 views

What are things to consider when moving yourself and kids closer to your girlfriend?

I’m beginning to think about moving closer to my girlfriend to spend more time with her. We’ve known each other for around 7 months now and things are going great! We are both good at communicating in ...
16 votes
4 answers
2k views

are there any peer reviewed studies showing the benefits of video games for kids (especially girls)?

I've been fairly against video games for my daughters (10,11,11) but I'm starting to rethink that. Currently their total "Screen Time" is limited. I might let (or even facilitate/encourage) them to ...
105 votes
15 answers
39k views

How can I prevent my 8-year-old from spending time with his bad friend?

Backstory: My 8 yr old son is a bright, gentle, etc, kid who attends public school. My wife and I have no TV, we disallow violent games (simulated killing is not allowed), we don't have video games, ...
6 votes
3 answers
5k views

My 8-year-old son is still soiling and wetting himself. Please help!

My 8-year-old son has been wetting and soiling himself for a long time now. We have been referred to hospital specialist nurses who are helping retrain his bladder. This was over 18 months ago and we ...
3 votes
1 answer
5k views

How to best deal with kids ringing doorbell and running away?

I don't talk with my neighbours much besides the occasional hello and wave when we see each other outside. I live in a neighbourhood of townhouses. 2 boys (age low elementary school, I dunno grade 3 ...
5 votes
2 answers
890 views

Kleptomania in 9 year old

So, my 9 yo step sons has a big issue with stealing. The issue is that it's not stealing money, or for gain. A lot of the time, he just takes things, just so that he can have it. He takes something, ...
5 votes
4 answers
6k views

Almost 9 year old regularly seeking attention

My boyfriend's 8-will-be-9-in-a-month daughter is with us for the summer. Her mom lives many states away so summer is dad/daughter time while mom has her for the school year. I am having troubles ...
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

How to make my 8-year-old son stop crying over the most simple things?

My 8-year-old son has ADHD and has been on the same medication for 3 years. Anytime he doesn't get something he wants, has to do something he doesn't want to do (homework, chores, stop playing his ...
9 votes
3 answers
1k views

How to help my 8-year-old who has selective mutism and doesn't say a word at school?

My 8-year-old has selective mutism. She is very talkative at home, but when it comes to school she will not say a word. She went the whole school year without her teacher hearing her voice. When I go ...
9 votes
4 answers
3k views

My kid slops through her chores or takes forever to do it. I've tried everything

My 10-year-old daughter has a problem with doing her chores correctly in a timely manner. For instance, she's famous for taking 3 hours to wash the dishes. She wants to go outside and play or get on ...
4 votes
2 answers
230 views

How to help son overcome stress over the time limit in first exam?

My son is in the 2nd grade (8 y/o) and at school, he doesn't have any exams at all yet. He passed the first stage of a gifted education project, that would greatly help him if he gets into it. The ...
46 votes
8 answers
10k views

How to get my younger sister to listen?

Not a parent but a big sister to an 8yo, I'm about ten years her senior. Mom has left for a month (caring for her parents) and with dad working it's up to me to make sure my sister is doing ok. Every ...
2 votes
1 answer
814 views

Taking children to the musical Kinky Boots

Our local theater is back live this fall. I have tickets for our family, and want to decide whether it is appropriate for 9 and 13 year old children. What kinds of mature topics does Kinky Boots have? ...
10 votes
2 answers
5k views

Is my 10-year-old just playing up or is it a warning sign that self harm is starting?

My 10-year-old daughter is going through a difficult time at the moment thinking that she is overweight and that nobody loves her. She has cut her own fringe off twice and has now got hold of my razor ...
3 votes
2 answers
496 views

Will "positive parenting" techniques work with my children?

I have two children (age 8 & 6). Both are very strong-willed. The stress of the pandemic and remote learning have taken their toll and caused their behaviors to escalate. They are now more ...
1 vote
2 answers
213 views

Should we reciprocate what our children does to us or should we do what ideally should be done?

My question is specific to my son who is about 12 years. When we ask him to do some favour like helping do some work and sharing his ice cream, he will always refuse to do so. I am confused as to what ...
35 votes
14 answers
12k views

How do I address a teacher humiliating my son by calling him a "tattletale"?

My friend recently shared this experience, and I thought it would be a good question for our site: So, [my son] got in trouble in school today. It seems that the kids were lined up in the hallway, ...
4 votes
3 answers
341 views

acting instead of the teacher against bullying

I live in Israel. Here bullying is not as much on the radar as it is in the United States. For example, there don't seem to be special "bullying policies" in the schools. In fact, when I ...
11 votes
4 answers
1k views

Overcoming an irrational fear of long guns

My 10 year old daughter has developed an acute fear of long guns. This is problematic because we go shooting at the range where I've been showing her guns bigger than our little revolver. This is ...
12 votes
3 answers
1k views

How can I help my children who just found out my wife left us?

My wife and I have been married for coming up close to 14 years now. We have 3 children, aged 12, 9 and 5. Recently, she started seeing another man and called it quits on me and the kids. She moved ...
6 votes
1 answer
223 views

Resources & activities for helping teach children how to fact check claims they hear?

I want to teach some middle schools in my family how to better fact check things they hear online, and basically encourage more critical thinking about the things they hear. I'm looking for support ...
30 votes
11 answers
7k views

What do I do to get my nine-year old boy off books with pictures and onto books with text content?

Books for kids now have a wide range of 'graphic novels'. When I grew up, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or CS Lewis Narnia series, or Charlotte's Web had a few illustrations, but they were ...
23 votes
6 answers
3k views

How to help a tomboy not dread puberty

She's ten and mostly plays with the boys, fitting in well due to her easy-going nature, outstanding athleticism, strong sense of fair play, and wild and crazy sense of humor. She's super competitive, ...
42 votes
8 answers
15k views

9-year-old received tablet as gift, but he does not have the self-control or maturity to own a tablet

Summary: Upon receiving the tablet, his first course of action was to install a game. For various reasons, I believe that he has proven himself to be irresponsible with such devices, and it would be ...
5 votes
2 answers
422 views

Framework for letting 9yo get access without hard time limits

My 9-year-old is in this situation concerning media: She has limited access to a family PC (restricted account with a time limit of X minutes per day). She uses that for Youtube and Minecraft. She ...
46 votes
5 answers
12k views

How to protect my child from friend's over protective father?

My 9yo son has a class mate whose father doesn't allow her to socialize with boys. The girl herself, on the other hand, is pretty adamant about being friends with my son, bordering on obsessive. I'd ...
2 votes
2 answers
235 views

How to encourage 9 year old boy to start learning new skill

I have a 9 year old son. He loves doing things he is good at but is not very open to start trying new things. For ex. he is doing Karate since he was 6 yr old and now he is intermediate level and good ...
26 votes
9 answers
6k views

Should I correct my daughter's pronunciation of ballet terms?

I'm a Hong Konger. I grew up in Montréal, Canada so I speak French, albeit with a perfect Québécois accent (which I'm proud of). I now live in Hong Kong. My daughter was born in Hong Kong and mostly ...
6 votes
1 answer
289 views

How should screen time be treated to balance the pro of education resources on the internet and con of decreased involvement in other activities?

Screen time is a tricky subject. Around middle school age there are very good uses of technology that emerge where can child can develop healthy hobbies fueled by self-motivation (which may later turn ...
2 votes
1 answer
224 views

Deal with child in self-destruct mode with sibling

My partner and I have each a kid - an 8 year old girl and a 9 year old boy. The girl believes that anything the boy gets, she should get as well - no matter how it was obtained. This is how she views ...
38 votes
10 answers
8k views

How to instill scepticism towards authority, albeit in a healthy way?

I have a nine year old son. I personally believe kids should have a healthy scepticism towards authority, and should question stuff before blindly acknowledging and obeying it. However, I'm not sure ...
2 votes
0 answers
124 views

Exercising visual spatial intelligence using interactive storytelling

What is the best way to exercise visual spatial intelligence for my 8 year old in regards to interactive story telling? I currently have her describe the surrounding environment she envisions in as ...
44 votes
10 answers
8k views

How do I explain the reasons behind protesting and rioting to my children?

We live in a major US city, and while we live far enough away from the areas most affected by the rioting and protesting that is currently ongoing, we are not so far that my children aren't aware - ...
10 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is it good or bad to correct a child's spelling online?

I regularly have text and video chats with my 8 year old nephew. Naturally, he doesn't know how to spell every word, so every once in a while he'll misspell something (e.g. "af" = "have" or "supries" ...
3 votes
4 answers
622 views

Is it healthy for children (aged 8-14) to play with toys from for R rated film franchises?

Obligatory: not a parent. I was wandering through Walmart the other day when I came across toys, designed for kids (aged 8-14 is my guess) from the Alien franchise. (Lanard is the company, for those ...
3 votes
2 answers
882 views

Girlfriends Daughter

I recently started dating an on again off again friend of mine back in May. We've been living together in our new house since October. We're both in our mid thirties and have known each other since ...
3 votes
1 answer
10k views

When do kids stop holding their parent's hand?

At what age do kids stop holding their parent's hands? My 8 year old daughter ALWAYS holds my hand whilst outside. I don't mind, but my partner and older daughter (16) thinks she is too old to be ...
9 votes
4 answers
1k views

How to help a 10-year-old, who has ADD, with writing assignments?

Our 10-year-old has ADD. He's on medication, which helps with focus, but isn't a cure-all, of course. I have ADD and my dad has ADD. I'm guessing his dad did too. ;) I wasn't diagnosed until ...
11 votes
3 answers
20k views

My 8-year-old daughter was taught by her classmates how to use the middle finger. How do I get her to stop this behavior?

Two of my daughter's 8-year-old class mates taught my daughter how to use the middle finger. My daughter is now obsessed and won't stop. We don't use this at home and find it offensive. However, ...