Weary Parent: Parenting Tweens & Teens

5 Lessons My Tweens Learned This Weekend

by char on March 5th, 2007

Looking back on this weekend, I realize not only was it a busy weekend, but it was a weekend full of lessons to be learned!

Lesson #1 - Don’t go to the nurse’s office unless you are REALLY sick

Lesson one of the weekend was learned by my son - a really smart, easily bored, low maintenance, 5th grader. He was supposed to go to a friend’s house after school on Friday as I was taking the girls to a gymnastics meet. Irritated by the relentless review for standardized tests at school, he proceeded to pitch a fit in his own little way - resulting in the nurse calling me to pick him up from school for being “sick”. As a result, he had to go to his Grandmother’s while waiting for my husband to pick him up after work instead of going to his friend’s house.

Lesson #2 - Things are only as miserable as YOU make them

After tantrum #1, my son threw a slightly louder tantrum over the issue of visiting his Grandparents instead of his friend. We had a little discussion about how you choose your own destiny and what a great opportunity this was to visit without two sisters in tow.  The end result, visiting the Grandparents was more fun than he expected.

Lesson #3 - You only compete as well as you practice

My 8 year old daughter learned a tough lesson on Saturday - you can’t skate through weeks of gymnastics practice on auto pilot and expect to win the meet! In reality, she did just fine, but she really wanted to place 4th, 5th or 6th in this meet - as awards for those placements were large swirly lollipops (it was a Wizard of Oz meet). She placed 7th overall - just .25 of a point away from a lollipop!  Disappointment was soon forgotten as she went with a friend after the meet to a birthday party.

Lesson #4 - Mom means business

Sunday afternoon my daughters just couldn’t get along. They were tired and on each other’s nerves. Things got a little heated and I threatened to cancel a playdate with a friend later in the afternoon. My warning was not heeded, fists and words began to fly, and I had to send them both to their rooms - followed by a phone call to the friend’s mother to cancel the playdate.

Lesson #5 - Leaving projects to the last moment is not a good idea

My son had a book report due today. How long does it really take to write a one page review of Holes and make a 3-D hole, shovel, and mount the report? In his world - too long. He started this on Friday (while at home “sick”) and finally finished last night after threats of computer/PS2 being gone for a long time.  I wonder where he gets the procrastination gene from (blushes:: that would be me)?

So how was your weekend? I don’t know about you, but I was mighty happy to see Monday morning!

Image via Image Chef.com 

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POSTED IN: Discipline, Friends, Parenting, Pre-teens, Weary Parent