How to Understand Your Pre-teen Daughter

The only thing worse than being a teenage girl is being a pre-teen girl. Stuck somewhere between barbies and boys with no understanding how to give up one and adapt to the other. Here is my opinion of what you can do to reconnect with your beautiful daughter.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• patience
• open mind
• a firm grip on what kind of parent you are

1. Studies show that girls from 8-11 start to migrate from a world revolved around her parents to one that is almost completely peer influenced. Scary? Yeah. Support your daughter's change. This does not mean to let her friends lead her, this means give her some space. She is starting to learn the value of privacy and I think that parents should respect that space.

2. Listen to her. Ask her about her day and her friends. Involve yourself with what she is willing to tell you. Remember her stories and her friends' names. Ask about them from time to time. This will show your daughter that you really do listen to what she has to say. Even if it is about Hannah Montana or some other nonsense story to you, it is important to her.

3. Encourage team sports. This will keep your child healthy while teaching her that she can be an individual and a team player at the same time. Team sports teach structure, physical education, socialization, punctuality, respect, and so much more.

4. Try to get to know your daughter on a level that she will understand that you are her friend, but also her parent. Good luck.