Lots of things happen when kids become teens. Linda Gademan, the librarian at Kennedy Middle School, and Kathy Kowalenko, the library's media-specialist, wanted to find a way to help parents better understand the middle school child. With a grant from the Connecticut Education Association and the endorsement of the Enfield Board of Education, the women led the effort to establish a parent resource center last spring. The grant paid for a new bookcase, about 60 books, and a few videotapes. Parents can borrow books and tapes that focus on a variety of topics pertaining specifically to middle school children.
Free pamphlets offer parents tips on how to parent and enjoy living with the middle school child.
For example, in January, Dr. Robert Robinson, a licensed marriage and family therapist, presented a discussion on the parent's role in helping a child deal with bullies. Neville said middle school children tend to be physical and to pick on each other. This is troubling to most parents, he said. Parents don't understand why a child is bullied or why he or she becomes a bully. Dr. Robinson, the director of Family Care Counseling Associates, Inc., offered information about the cultural influences on children, peer relationships, the warning signs of potential problems, and how to keep children safe and bully-free.