Peace in Puberty!!

It can be difficult to maintain your peace of mind when children are constantly...being children. Disobedience, silly tales and questions, and frolic and fun all day long are just a few things that come with the package. I remember the toddler years being a challenge, yet puberty seems to take on a whole new meaning of ATTITUDE. My goodness! I’m so thankful the Lord reminded me of puberty because my firstborn is ten and I believe he started his change last year and I was unaware. Children go through stages and their thoughts and actions should be expected to change. If we aren’t ready for the changes, we think the child is just being defiant, difficult, or just plain crazy and this can make us crazy! We made a special visit to the library to check out a book on puberty and reading and discussing a chapter everyday has allowed me to strengthen our mother/son bond and open the door to another level in our relationship. I can either make or break his willingness to share with me by how I handle his change. Yes, what I do now will influence our future relationship. I’m doing my best to make our conversations and new words as comfortable for him to discuss as possible. His new body odor, hair growth, private parts having a mind of their own, and his ATTITUDE are new experiences for our household, and we are celebrating the change in our own way...a way to build his self esteem and his confidence as a young man. Peace? I believe puberty prepares mothers for the pre-teen and teenage years if we take notice and use it to our advantage. Preparing for things to come allows us to handle them a whole lot better. Keep the peace in puberty!