I can tell you that, so far, this is NOT my favorite stage. I'll take the Terrible Twos ANYDAY!!!! We get a lot of fighting, door slamming, eye rolling, etc.
But the language! That is what drives me bonkers! (I'm a word girl, remember?) This is some of what I hear on a daily basis...
"Uh-huh"
"Fine"
"Okaaaayyyyyy"
"Sure, Mom"
But I realized something today as I was dropping him off at school...
When I say "I love you" and he says, "Uh-huh," what he really means is, "Thanks, I need to know someone cares."
When I ask how a test went, he always says "Fine." But, what he wants to say is "I aced it! Thanks for helping me study those vocab words!"
And when his dad tells him "I'm really proud of how you played and stayed tough," the response we get is "Okaaayyy." But what he really means is, "Gee, Dad. It means a lot to me that you come to my games and are so encouraging. A lot of others dads don't do that at all!"
But, my favorite is when I ask him to be a good example for his siblings and he says, "Sure, Mom," and then...he actually is a good example.
Now, I'm not an adolescent psychologist or anything, but I think, if we all took a second to understand the meanings behind the words, there would be much fewer fights, and door slams, and eye rolls, and... Know what I mean?
Anyway- I wish you much luck with your tweenager! I know the definitions will change, but now I'm ready!!!
Love you all,
Rulissa
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