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Part Five: THE PLAIN TRUTHABOUT CHILD REARING
Overlooked
In-Between Years
Why should child rearing be the most misunderstood issue facing
parents today? We pick up the story,
in this installment, with the preadolescent or early school years.
T
HE
preschool years are
crucial in a child 's
development. So are the
earlier school-age years–
roughly ages 6 to 12. These
are the preadolescent years,
just before the stressful time
of puberty when a child
begins his or her transition
from childhood to adult–
hood.
The preadolescent years lay
the foundation for the teen
years. It is an important time
that in large measure deter–
mines the course for subse–
quent years.
At
this age, children are still
young and pliable. You, the par–
ent, will at this time set them on
the road to either success or fail–
ure. When children become
teenagers, it will be much more
difficult to alter already estab–
lished patterns of behavior. By '
instilling right habits in your
llí
child ren
before
they become
g
teenagers and young adults, you
~
will make it easier on them- and
on yourself-later on.
lt's Never Too Late to Start
If
you have neglected your child–
rearing responsibilities up to this
point, NOW IS ABSOLUTELY THE
TIME
TO START! Your responsibility
has become a serious one.
Aprll 1985
The general principies of child
reariog that have already been cov–
ered in previous installments are, of
course, valid throughout your
child's development. Reread them
and spend sorne time considering
how they can be applied to your
preadolescent. R emember-to
work, these princ ipies must be
applied consistently!
In this installment we focus on
selected areas of concern in pre–
adolescent child rear ing and show
how these principies can be specifi–
cally tailored to this age group. We
will examine the areas of communi–
cation, general education, sex edu–
cation and character morals.
Possibly the most important
aspect of child rearing at this or
any age is proper communication.
Help establish
right attitudes
about school.
Show
enthusiasm
over homework
and school
achievements.
The need for effective communica–
tion cannot be overemphasized!
"No one listens. " "No one
understands." "No one cares."
These are the prevalent feelings of
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