REAL FRIENDS AND GIRLS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

 
If you have a daughter in middle school, you know the friendship topic is an ever-changing one. One day, someone is their best-friend and the next day, they might not feel the same way. It is a time when they are trying to maintain the friendships they grew up with, while exploring new ones.

Middle school years are difficult ones for anyone but girls seem to have a little harder time, especially in today's society with all the bullying that goes on.  This is why Real Friends, by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham is such a great book for girls to read, even before they start middle school, probably around end of 4th grade or 5th grade is a good age to recommend this book.

"Real Friends" is an illustrated memoir about how difficult it is to find "real" friends and the journey.

I remember when my daughter was in middle school, I felt like I was dropping her off in a lion's den every day.  It was literally the nature of the animal (no pun intened) but it was a jungle out there, not knowing who would be loyal, who would be up to no good and knowing that there were and always will be those group of girls we all recognize as the "gossipy" ones, who never have anything nice to say, no matter what you do!  

As a mom, I can relate to this because of my daughter, but I can also remember living those middle school years as well.  

Today's tweens and teens have a lot of different issues to deal with such as social media pressure and bullying and "Real Friends" is a great read to make girls this age, feel that they are not alone. It lets them know that finding "real friends" is worth the journey!

Good luck on your journey raising a tween or teen by the way!

BATTLE OF THE OVARIES

Is it the curse of having a girl or is it just the kids in my family? Or is it all pre-tweens, because she is not even a teen yet and here I am with pre-tween nightmares already.  How can I be patient, I ask myself?  I recognize I am the fool.  The foolish mother who trust her kid and allows her privileges and trust my 11-year old when she says, "Yes, I did all my homework."  I mean I check the agenda, I follow-up but in the same breath, I am trying in the hopes that some "responsibility" and  "independence" will sink in. After all, I have been hounding about this all year long!

I have been through the "I am taking your TV privilege away, you have no phone privilege, you can't play outside privilege" routine already.  I am sick of hearing myself nag. And STILL, she tells me she has no homework! Really?  Dude! You are talking to me!  You know, "been there done that." Besides, mothers know.  We "spit" these kids out of our bodies and they think we don't know when they are lying.

Silly, stuff.  You know, telling me she doesn't have social studies homework when she really does.  How foolish is it to try to con your mother over social studies...what  a waste of grounding.  Hey, if I was going to get grounded, it was going to be for something GOOD!  LOL! 

I will never understand a pre-tween/teenagers way of thinking.  Honestly, I have a long way to go with all these battles but I am convinced this is a mother/daughter thing....a battle of the ovaries. Another challenge in the mommy warrior world!