8 things you need to know about 11-year-olds.

This parenting gig doesn’t come with a manual.

Oh sure, it comes with a lot of well-meaning “advice” from friends, family and strangers, but it really doesn’t prepare you for the stages you inevitably encounter as your child grows. It’s like a secret society that you are only allowed to enter when you yourself have endured the same terrifying times. But I’m here to prepare you, perhaps act as a cautionary tale and, as someone who has been there twice now, to warn you of what you are in for with an 11-year-old. Something I wish I’d known when I went through it.

1. They will start to shower for an hour.

This is commonly known as the ‘Hour of Shower’. A year ago you couldn’t get these kids INTO the shower, now you can’t get them out. And shower time will become even longer once school goes back – suddenly, your 11-year-old will take a new interest in their appearance. There will be much pounding on doors and screams of “I’m washing my hair!” only for them to emerge some time later, annoyed at your interference. The only upside to this is that you know that they will be clean. But their room sure as hell won’t be.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Combantrin^®, But all opinions expressed by the author are 100 per cent authentic and written in their own words.

2. You will need to procure a ‘Hazmat’ suit to enter their bedroom.

No, seriously. If you think you are going to walk into your 11-year-old’s bedroom and not leave requiring a Tetanus shot, think again. Most of them are quite simply filthy animals. For some unknown reason, it seems physically impossible for them to return dishes to the sink or remove last Tuesday’s underpants from the bedroom floor. If you’re anything like me, “back to school” time is also “clean your room and get organised” time. So get prepared by possibly procuring a gas mask.

3. Suddenly, they will care about being prepared to go back to school.

A year ago, you would be calling the shots and begging them to get organised for the new school year. You would almost have to physically drag them to the shops to get their new school gear. Now? No way. They are dragging YOU to the shops – because now they suddenly care about their appearance and being “cool”, it is essential that they have the right bag, the right shoes, the right pencil case. Fun times. But don’t think they are going to start caring about the essentials – it will still be up to you to remember to stock up on things like sandwich bags, head lice treatment, Band-Aids, paracetamol and worming tablets.

4. You will feel as though you are living with Jekyll and Hyde.

Only an 11-year-old can make you feel like you’ve committed a mortal sin for asking them how their day was. These irrational responses will blindside you as you are genuinely thinking you were being completely reasonable with this line of conversation. The mood swings are unpredictable and are made worse when your tween is embarrassed about something (think bodily functions, or worst of all – a CRUSH). You will have to handle these situations with diplomacy and grace.

8 things I didn’t know about 8-year-olds

5. There will be excessive eye rolling.

Get ready. Eye rolling actually becomes an art form. It goes hand in hand with the mood swings and petulant behaviour and is usually triggered by a simple request to tidy up their bedroom or to do anything, actually.

6. Inherent laziness will take over.

I know, kids are lazy by their very nature – and give me the chance to do nothing all day and I’d gladly do it, too. The thing is, these guys are young adults on the precipice of having to be responsible, and I’ve watched enough TV to understand that there is some kind of wiring in the brain that doesn’t connect until they hit around 21, so it’s not actually their fault, it’s SCIENCE. But that still doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Now that it’s back to school time, it’s time to prepare yourself for the year-long battle between their laziness and your desire for them to do their homework.

7. You will experience what is known as ‘suffocation by celebrity perfume’.

Now this might relate more to girls but let’s just say, I can now recognise a Britney Spears fragrance at 50 paces and it makes me physically ill. Do they bathe in it?

The 8 books that helped me grow up.

8. They will develop crushes and they will be intense. Until they’re not.

Sure, they’re still technically ‘tweens’ but as their hormones start to ramp up, so does their appreciation for other people their own age. School’s about to go back, so brace yourself for some “serious” crushes. Encourage them to talk to you about this or about anything they might be experiencing that is new to them. If you can get them talking now, you might be able to keep them talking later.

11-year-old children aren’t a new development and we certainly won’t be the first or last parents to wade through the minefield that is tweendom (no longer a child but not yet a teenager) but it certainly helps if we can be prepared and know that we are all in this together.

Good luck!

Have you got anything to add?

Are you raising an 11-yaer-old? Can you relate to any of these ecards?

3533

Day care and school environments are the ideal breeding ground for threadworms. Yet while they are easy for kids to pick up, threadworms are not so easy to detect. COMBANTRIN^®-1 products are an easy way to help ensure your kids are threadworm free. Available in tasty chocolate squares, COMBANTRIN^®-1 can effectively treat threadworms in a single square, so it’s easy to administer to your child.

COMBANTRIN^® is Australia’s most trusted worming brand by mums.*

* COMBANTRIN^® Market Research August 2014.

Always read the label. Use only as directed. If symptoms persist, see your health care professional. ® Trade mark. 1002/11.