Times have drastically changed since the years I was in middle school. While I’m sure there was the occasional pregnancy that was certainly not a common issue. In fact, I remember my first kiss being in middle school and the big deal was that he used his tongue.
Oh to go back to those more carefree, innocent days. Okay, they weren’t exactly innocent but they were pretty darn close compared to what middle school tweens have to deal with today.
One of the mistakes that some parents of tween children make is that they think conversations about certain topics such as sex, alcohol, smoking and drugs can wait until they are in high school…not true. In fact, if you wait too long it may end up being too late.
It wasn’t that long ago when a good friend of mine made the comment that she had yet to have “the talk” with her 6th grader. She wasn’t ready for it. But I pointed out to her that although she may not be ready for it, he is…like it or not.
Once-in-a-while my son will say something that causes me to stop in my tracks. Incredulously I will ask, “How do you know about that?” But then I remind myself, tweens today are much different than from my day.
The information highway has dispensed into their laps a wide assortment of knowledge that we would probably prefer they not know about. And the sad truth is that you can do everything in your power to “protect” them but they are still going to hear about it from someone else.
So your best bet is to deal with the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach and sit down with your tween to have a frank discussion about all of those things you thought could wait until high school. It will more than likely be a bigger eye-opening experience for you rather than for
your tween.
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