13 (Scary & Delightful) Things Nobody Warned Me About When My Kid Became A Tween

"When you tell someone your child is about to be a tween, they immediately enter Doomsday, Level 5. It's all about how disrespectful tweens are and how hard this age is and how stressed and upset you're going to be. Everyone talks about the emotions of tweens and how they'll terrorize your household, and I honestly just had to ignore all of that."

"But nobody told me that tween behaviors and toddler behaviors are basically a Venn diagram. Nobody told me that they'd want to push all their limits, while also staying up my butt and following me from room to room. Nobody told me they'd still get super excited about something new, like a craft kit, while also refusing to hear any feedback from me about anything."

"It is both a joy and a stressor because once my kid became a tween, I remained convinced something was wrong and that she just wasn't telling me for weeks. It's like my tween became a toddler again with her clinginess. Sometimes she wanders into the kitchen and just leans her head against my shoulder while I cook, or comes up to me and asks me for a hug out of nowhere."

The tween years blend toddler-like behavior with emerging independence, producing simultaneous boundary-pushing and clinginess. Emotional volatility, heightened embarrassment, and sudden enthusiasm for new activities coexist with refusal to receive feedback. Caregivers may feel anxious, mistaking clingy moments for hidden problems; embracing brief closeness and open invitations to talk helps. Appetite often increases significantly during puberty, creating practical needs for more snacks and meals. Patience, acceptance, and preparedness for both emotional swings and physical hunger support smoother family dynamics during this phase. Planning for extra food and quiet moments of connection reduces conflict and reassures tweens.

Read at Scary Mommy