How To Make Your 10-Year-Old Ready For Adolescence
If you have a nine or ten year old child, you should prepare the child to be ready for adolescence because this is the age that may be heralding adolescence. Children of this age may already have started behaving or looking like teens. They may be growing taller also. Some of them may be experiencing a few changes related to puberty. So, as a parent, you should be careful because your 9 or 10-year old child may be considering you as a role model.
Children of this age may face a lot of challenges. They have to tackle physical and emotional challenges and in addition to them, they may have demanding school assignments also. Some of these children may readily take responsibility for their routine work, self-care that includes homework and grooming and may carry out a number of tasks themselves without any supervision.
This means children of this age tend to become more independent than how they were behaving earlier. They may be interested in things or people outside of their immediate family.
Another point to remember is that this is the age during which there may be a lot of contradictions. These children may look as well as act as grown-ups but they may sometimes exhibit qualities of very young kids. They may even behave in an immature manner. One of the common attributes of these children is they may ask their parents not to hug or kiss them in public. But they may sometimes request for hugs and kisses when they are at home. This means while being more independent, they may want assistance or guidance for organizing things or for sticking to schedules.
This is what makes the tasks of parents more complicated. So, you, as a parent, should adopt more patience while dealing with children of this age. You can not treat them as fully grown-up adolescents though they may try to behave so and at the same time, you must not treat them as young kids.
Food habits
This is the age when the eating habits of children get settled. So, you should carefully teach them the importance of eating right and nutritious foods. You should be a role model for them. If you are careless about your eating, your children will also learn the same habit. If you show them how to choose healthy items for eating, they will also like to take healthy and nutritious lunches to the school.
It is better the entire family sits together for meals. When they observe that the elders are choosing the right items, they will also learn the importance of healthy eating.
Another point you must not lose sight of is these children may consume good quantities of food one day and on another day, they may nibble only on one or two items. But in general, children of this age may have increased appetite because of the spurt in their growth.
Exercises
You, as a parent, should teach them the importance of exercises. If you eat wisely and exercise regularly, they will also follow suit. On the other hand, if you behave like a couch potato and eat unhealthy foods, chances of your children doing the same increase. The same rule is applicable if your intention is to instill a good attitude in them.
Sleep
Researches have proved that children of this age group have trouble sleeping. Some of these children may bed-wet also. Among many problems that negatively impact the sleep of these children, television viewing, video and computer games and various types of electronic devices stand out. If these children are deprived of adequate sleep, their performance in their studies and their ability to be attentive in the class may come down.
So, ensure to teach them regular sleeping habits so they get adequate rest during nights. This will help improve their cognitive function, overall health and mood. 9 to 10 year old children need to sleep for about 11 hours. So, set regular routines during the evenings and see that your children retire for bed early. In short, children of 9 to 10 years of age need more sleep and rest than teens.
Chores
You can teach these children household chores including complicated ones like washing the dishes, taking care of the pets, etc. These children may be interested in the decision making process of the family also. More particularly, they may want to suggest vacation ideas or items for the house. They may also like to organize and plan their schedules independently.
You can introduce an incentive system for encouraging them to do household chores. At the same time, you can guide them to spend money wisely and also save judiciously. All these steps may make them more responsible.
But some children may grumble when they are asked to do household chores. You should slowly make this group of children understand that every family member is expected to do household chores according to their capabilities. You can think of ideas to make children enjoy such chores. But never forget to heap praises on them when they complete a chore.
