Help! The Tweenies are coming….

Time was that I thought I was finally beginning to crack this parenting egg. The ferals are all in full time school, I am in full time work (albeit at very strange times of the day and night), and we seem to muddle along quite nicely if you discount the screaming-like-a-banshee-on-a-regular-basis, and we all discount that – don’t we?

Then the Boy Wonder hit 9 and things started to change, very subtly, like a stealth bomber. Before I knew it my smart kid was suddenly a smart-mouthed kid with more than a soupcon of attitude. And joy of joys, being the big brother and therefore ring-leader, I also have a 6 and a 4 year old positively racing to accompany him into the “you’re too young to be acting like a teenager” padded cell.

So what to do? Short of banging my head against a wall, implementing YET ANOTHER incentive scheme and sobbing into my gin I thought “not a lot, we just have to ride this one out”.

And that’s exactly what we do have to do, but there is help out there. Actual, sensible, non-patronising help. And it comes in the form of a book from Netmums called You and Your Tween. Now anyone who knows me well knows my opinion on this kind of thing. I don’t generally look for advice from books and yes, that is a euphemism brought on by the cathartic burning of everything Gina Ford ever had published. But this book landed on my desk at just the right time with a “dip-in-and-out” guarantee. I like dip-in-and-out, that smacks of minimal effort and maximum return in my world, so I duly dipped.

I like the way that the book is divided up, firstly into different sections eg, Conflict and Communication, Education, Puberty Sex & Relationships *shudders*. And I particularly liked the way that it’s then broken down into ‘Expert’ opinion and ‘Netmums’ opinion, offering real advice and empathy to everyday problems. For me, one of the key chapters was ‘Independence and Responsibility. It delivered some timely reminders about all of the goals we’ve basically been working towards for these past 9 years and now that we’re there we’re refusing to take the next step and allow things to happen.

If you’re after a book that can give you a gentle nudge and a reminder of your parenting goals with practical advice of how to achieve them, this is the one. And remember, it comes with a “dip-in-and-out” guarantee. That alone is worth the price of £12.99.

You and Your Tween – Managing the years from 9 to 13 with Hollie Smith is a Netmums book published by headline. ISBN 978-0-7553-6109-0. It’s available on Amazon at around half the RRP so well worth nabbing yourself a bargain!

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network. I am paid an expenses fee to cover my time but Netmums have no editorial control whatsoever about what I blog about. Being a member of the Netmums Blogging Network means that I get to try out products and brands and get my expenses covered but that I retain full editorial integrity.