Parents should support a child s desire to have time to engage in activities with children of their own sex. Membership in groups is important to the pre-teen. Scouts, athletic teams, and church groups are some ways of meeting that need. This may include special people outside the family. Pre-teens are curious about sexual matters.
Parents can provide accurate information.
Pre-teens develop new feelings about their own bodies rather than developing sexual relationships with the opposite sex. Special athletic, artistic, academic, or musical talents may emerge. Parents should encourage areas of potential success as a means of building the child s self-esteem. A Time of Change Teens struggle with rapid growth, sexual maturation, and desire for independence from their parents. Parents need to keep in mind that their child s hormones have more control over their moods than they do.