12-Year-Old Parenting Tools

Mental health is an important part of a person’s well-being, especially during the middle school years when children develop emotionally and face new social and academic challenges. Just like physical health, mental health needs attention and support. At this age, twelve-year-olds benefit from learning skills to help them manage emotions and grow resilience. Children/teens aged 11-14 are going thr...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an important role in your child’s/teen’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship, and setting up a daily homework routine provides an excellent opportunity.  Children/Teens ages 11-14 are in the process of adapting early school-age learning habits to their more demanding workload. They are establishin...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, your influence is important in your child’s success. There are intentional ways to foster a healthy parent-child relationship while instilling confidence in your child to persist toward their goals and succeed in all areas of life. Everyone faces challenges, yet mistakes and failures are necessary for your twelve-year-old’s learning and development. With...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play a vital role in your child’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child/teen relationship, and growing skills in reading is a great way to do it.   Reading is essential for your child’s/teen’s success in school. Reading also plays a critical role in your child’s/teen’s  ●      ...

Twelve-year-olds require the ability to follow directions to get along at home and to succeed at school. Whether they are completing chores, following safety instructions, completing assignments, or showing their knowledge on tests, they will need to be able to follow directions. Though telling your child to do something may seem simple enough, listening and engaging in several steps in instructio...

Trust is an important foundation for healthy relationships. As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your twelve-year-old’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child/teen relationship and understand how to promote trust in your child/teen. Lying represents an important milestone in your child’s/teen’s thinking as they learn that others have...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an important role in your child’s/teen’s success. There are intentional ways to teach your child/teen to communicate well, and working with them to transform disrespect is a perfect opportunity.      You can be purposeful and deliberate about how you respond when you feel your child/teen has shown disrespect through word...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your child’s/teen’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship, and growing your child’s/teen’s skills to respectfully communicate provides a terrific opportunity.   Conflict happens in families between spouses, among siblings, and between parents and children/teens. Arguing in...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an important role in your child’s/teen’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship. Growing your child’s/teen’s skills to manage anger provides a perfect opportunity.   Children age 11-14 are still in the process of learning about their strong and changing feelings. They do not fully understand the...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an important role in your child’s/teen’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child/teen relationship while building essential listening skills in your child/teen. Your child’s/teen’s success depends upon their ability to listen and understand what you and others are communicating. Listening skills can support your child’...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your child’s/teen’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship. Teaching your child/teen to repair harm is a great opportunity.  Your support in growing the skill of repairing harm can help your child/teen develop social awareness -- “the ability to understand the perspectives of and...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your child’s/teen’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship, and daily chores provide a perfect opportunity.  Chores allow your child/teen to play a role in contributing to the maintenance and care of your family’s household. Children/teens ages 11-14 are establishing lifestyle ha...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an important role in your child’s/teen’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child/teen relationship and ensure that your child/teen develops a healthy relationship with technology. Technology use has become essential to your child’s/teen’s life and learning in school. It has the potential to play a role in: ● &nbsp...

As a parent or those in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your child’s/teen’s success. Helping your child/teen grow healthy friendships is important. Through relationships, your child/teen develops a sense of belonging. They come to better understand themselves through their interactions with you, their teachers, and their peers. 

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your child’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship, and helping your child learn how to deal with peer pressure provides a perfect opportunity.

As a parent or those in a parenting role, you play a vital role in your child’s development and success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship, and growing your child’s skills to manage conflict provides a worthwhile opportunity.

Eleven-year-olds are working on understanding what it means to act responsibly. They are: ●working to understand the rules and apply them in a variety of settings.  ●working on their independence.  ●increasingly taking care of their bodies (eating right, getting exercise).  ●learning about relationships (managing their feelings and impulses, empathizing and working through conflict,...

Children and adults alike experience stress. Stress is the physical or mental response to an external trigger, such as a change in routine or being yelled at by a friend.  Feelings of stress are naturally built-in mechanisms for human survival and thriving. These feelings are the body’s way of warning you when there is danger and calling your attention to problems that need resolvin...

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your child’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship, and creating rules about cannabis helps establish the supportive conditions necessary for your child to deal with risk.

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your child’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child relationship, and creating rules about cannabis helps establish the supportive conditions necessary for your child to deal with risk.

Now is the right time to become more informed about the challenges regarding cannabis that may face your child/teen and how you can position them for success. 

Children/Teens ages 11-14 are working to assert their independence while still being dependent on their parents or those in the parenting role. They will naturally test limits and break rules. This is a normal part of their development and necessary for their learning. 

As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you play an essential role in your child’s/teen’s success. There are intentional ways to grow a healthy parent-child/teen relationship, and daily routines provide a perfect opportunity. 

Now is the right time to become more aware of the challenges that your child/teen may face regarding alcohol and how you can equip them for healthy decision-making and success. 

Children are persistently noting differences in the world around them. Parents or those in a parenting role can support children as they make sense of differences among people by talking with them about their observations.