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Finding the Fun
How to Put the Joy Back
Into Parenting
Into Parenting
By Shel Franco
Frustrating, eye-opening, fast-paced, scary: How would you describe the middle school years? Would fun be on your list?
For some folks, parenting is fun. For others, parental joy flew out the window the minute their kids hit double-digits. Can you get the fun back? You can, say the experts, and we'll tell you how.
"Sixth grade was like night and day from fifth grade," says Karen Croft of Pittsburgh, Pa. "My son went from goofy and happy to withdrawn and depressed. I went right along for the ride."
Croft worried that her son was headed down a dark path, but she didn't know how to intervene. "Everything I tried backfired," she says. "Before too long, everything I said to him sounded angry. I hated the mother I had become."
Kate Cohen-Posey, a licensed mental health counselor and marriage and family therapist practicing in Florida, says first things first: Find a parenting support group that will provide you face-to-face contact with parents of preteens who will understand what you are going through.
"When my daughter was an infant, I wisely participated in a 'baby class' and learned many useful tips," says Cohen-Posey. "Parents probably need a 'teen class' much more than a 'baby class.'"
Community centers, family centers, churches and even hospitals in your area may offer workshops or classes about parenting preteens and teens. If no class is available, you might think about starting one.
