Between

A Guide for Parents of Eight to Thirteen-Year-Olds

De: Sarah Ockwell-Smith

Narrado por: Sarah Ockwell-Smith

Raising a tween can leave you feeling like a parenting beginner all over again. Children in the 'between' stage seem to change daily, leaving many parents struggling to understand the child they once thought they knew so well. In Between, parenting expert and mother of four Sarah Ockwell-Smith uses a unique blend of the biology, psychology, and sociology of adolescence as the basis for practical parenting advice that you can use to help your child through the transition from childhood to adulthood.

It explores key issues, including: why tweens can be moody, rude, lazy, and impulsive—and how to cope with their behavior; what happens during puberty—and when and how to talk to your tween about it; how to navigate friendships and romantic relationships in the tween years; how to encourage good mental health and body image; managing screen time and avoiding common pitfalls; and supporting the transition to secondary school.

Between also offers advice on coping with your own feelings as your child moves through this developmental period. The tween years can be a difficult period for parent and child alike, but your openness and support is key to building the relationship that you will have with your child for the rest of their life. Between will guide you across the bridge from childhood into adolescence, together with your child.

©2021 Sarah Ockwell-Smith (P)2023 Tantor

Many positive features with a few drawbacks

I think there are many positive things in this book including great insight into the tween brain and development. However, the author tends to get rather political when she literally demands readers support political movements like Black Lives Matter with their tween. Additionally, there is some hypocrisy in the book when she appropriately advocates for gender equality and then uses the pronoun “he/him” in reference to a generic family doctor, which inherently implies only men can/should be physicians. Normally, I would not call attention to this, but the author specifically emphasized that girls have less societal exposure to STEM than boys and that we should encourage girls to seek exposure to STEM subjects.

Overall, her points would be better made by avoiding subtle sexist hypocrisy and aforementioned political issues like BLM and instead stick to facts and her area of expertise.

Helpful advice that balances anecdotes with research to create a supportive guide to raise capable, independent tweens

I will be revisiting many sections of this book in the months and years to come.

'Between' offers a thoughtful perspective on the challenges of raising tweens, providing valuable insights into their developing brains and decision-making processes. I appreciate its comprehensive approach, covering essential topics like sleep, puberty, financial education, autonomy, and independence.