This is the time for crucial developments in your 9 years, 6-month-old kid that is marked by several changes. Read along to know what you can expect at this stage of growth and development.Your kid is approaching her “tween” years now. Even though she is not a kid anymore, she is yet to become a teenager. This is the time when she might find things pretty difficult and awkward.
Increasing Freedom
Your kid is now fairly independent and may often turn to others for attention. She shall prefer to make friendship from her own sex and may also begin to show interest in the other sex as well.
She will ask for all the privileges of a teenager, even though she may not be ready for them yet. Do not be surprised if you find her willing to give away her toys for a
cell phone. She will also request you to bring her a DVD of her favourite movie and she would prefer watching it without playing with her friends. It shall be difficult for her to handle and balance between responsibility and freedom.
Sense of Responsibility
Since she would want to shoulder more
responsibilities, it shall get difficult for her and may engage in conflicts with you. She may turn argumentative sometimes and even beg to get things done her way.
Social Skills
She shall start to understand social norms now. However, she shall be pretty smart about acting well in front of strangers. She shall feel more comfortable to behave the way she wants when at home with you.
Feeling Towards Others
She has now developed ways to control her anger and friends mean a lot to her. She is more considerate towards feelings of others and empathises with others well. She shall always want to be a hero and want to be accepted by her friends.
The friends she chooses shall have a huge impact on her behaviour. You as a parent must involve her in positive activities and help her find her talents and interests. You can encourage her to pursue her hobby, sports, music or art.
Tips for Disciplining Your Child
While you are
disciplining your little one, you need to keep in mind the subtle balance between guidance and freedom. She shall look for a lot of parallel support and want your participation in making a right decision. When it comes to disciplining, you need to keep in mind disciplining strategies need to be modified depending on the nature of your kid.
Boosting Self Esteem
Self esteem issues are common in this age that calls for the need to praise. You must make it a point to praise the efforts she takes up. This shall be a wonderful way to boost her confidence and esteem.
Providing Positive Attention
Showering her with positive attention is highly essential. Positive attention will help her stay away from developing attention seeking behaviours. If she is taking up new challenges, encourage her to come up with innovative solutions.
Giving Instructions
You should be careful about the ways you give her instructions. Both of you should not get involved in power struggles in the whole process.
Handling Misbehaviour
Remind her of the logical consequences when she is being rude or misbehaving. Reinforce the
family rules time and again. Take away some of her privileges, when she is not listening to you.
If you think some of her behaviours are unacceptable at school or home, you can sit down and have a talk with her. You can always help with creative solutions and be honest about how you can help while resolving an issue.
Moms tell us about the disciplinary actions you had taken to tackle your 9 years and 6-month-old. Did you encounter any behavioural changes at this age? What did you do to handle them? Share with us your experiences and put across suggestions for the other moms here.
How to help kids strike a balance between freedom and responsibilities? What challenges do parents of preteens and teens face? How to teach preteens and teens to differentiate between right and wrong? Discuss here. 
