Change is the name of the game for mothers with kids in this age range. Some moms may experience confusion during this stage of motherhood because their child looks, sounds, and behaves very differently from one month to the next. On the other hand, many moms have fun with this stage of motherhood.
As I observed my daughters move toward the teenage years, I found it utterly fascinating to watch them change and grow and observe their strengths and weaknesses. There were joys and there were painful disappointments. Growth spurts were followed by periods of no apparent growth; childlike behavior was followed by moments of maturity.
Moms need to loosen the restrictions that were in place when their kids were younger in order for their tweens to keep growing toward puberty. Mothers also begin to experience changes in their own bodies as they begin to move toward midlife. Moms may begin to have more conflicts with their spouses as they face social and emotional challenges with their kids and disagree on how to intervene. This makes this stage a great time for moms and dads to learn how to negotiate and resolve conflict.
As children begin to put more importance on peer relationships, conflicts with their friends often dominate their lives. If kids are engaging with social media, those conflicts are likely to be more frequent. Moms need to be in a healthy place to care for their children at this age and help them cope with their friendship issues. This is an excellent time for mothers to take steps to improve their own physical, social, and relational health. Caring for children who are moving toward adolescence is less physically taxing than caring for young kids, but it requires a lot more emotional stamina.