Parenting the Middle Years

Homeschool Review Crew

As you know(or maybe you don’t) we parent several kids.  A lot of kids actually.  Right now I’m expecting number eleven for our house so it gets kind of crazy at times.  A new season for us is parenting the middle years.  I have my first two teenagers and multiple kids in the so called “tween” years.  It’s definitely a new experience for me and one that seemed a little daunting.  Through the Homeschool Review Crew we received a copy of No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope by Hal and Melanie Young.  This book came to us from Great Waters Press, their publishing company.  It’s their newest title and I couldn’t wait to dive in!

About the Title

Being their newest title there weren’t very many reviews out yet so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  This book is geared to parents of children ages 8-14, for those parenting the middle years.  Both boys and girls are addressed in the book.  It has twelve chapters and is 203 pages long.  You can read before you hit parenting the middle years or while you’re doing so.  Either way it’s a great read full of encouragement and scripture.

Chapters and subjects covered in the book include:

• Hormones and Body Changes
• Emotional Upheaval
• Why School Goes Awry
• Spiritual Questioning
• Sexuality and Virtue
• Overcoming Awkwardness
• More than Amusement(this deals with gaming and media)
• Family Relationships
• Youth in the Bible
• Coming of Age Ceremonies
• Work and Stewardship
• High School and Beyond

My Thoughts

I have to admit I’ve always been a bit intimidated by the teenage years but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I learned those middle years can be challenging in their own way.  Your child isn’t yet a teen but definitely is no longer a toddler either.  

I love the way the book is written.  It’s written in a conversational tone as if you’re sitting down to tea.  This definitely constitutes my favorite way for a book to read.

First, I read through the whole book and then I went back to read more closely and focus on chapters that were the most relevant for us.  My oldest three children are girls, followed by three boys, three more girls, and one boy.  So, I’ve definitely got a lot of years to perfect my parenting the middle years attitude.  

One thing I didn’t realize would happen with my boys was the huge attitude shifts.  People say girls are hormonal, but my boys hit those hormonal attitudes at younger ages than my girls.  I love the chapter on responding to these outbursts so much.  It’s definitely what I’ve been leaning towards but so hard at times.  I haven’t spent much time on the high school chapter yet as my oldest is just getting into junior high.  

Parenting the middle years is hard on us as the parents and also hard on our children.  I’ve found it really helps to remember this.  No one is wrong, and eventually it’ll all work out.  My goal is to still be friends with my kids when they’re adults and a lot of what will shape that is how I parent these years. 

Learn More

Want to learn more about Hal and Melanie Young and Great Waters Press?  They’re the authors of Raising Real Men as well which is already in my library!  Check out the other reviews on parenting the middle years but also their other book about having a Biblical Attitude towards Sexuality.  The reviews are all linked up on the Homeschool Review Crew Blog.  They also share on their facebook, a second facebook, instagram, pinterest, and twitter.