Parents of 10 year old girls - are yours hormonal and behaving out of character?

[lottieandmia]

Dd2 is 10 and is a lovely, lovely girl but lately I am a bit worried about her. She seems to be down all the time and does not want to get up for school. Usually she loves school. She is a sensitive child but usually very sociable and has lots of friends. Lately though, she seems to only want to spend time with one friend which I feel is not that healthy.

She also seems to give up on things very easily if they are not working out like after school activities. If she has one off day she wants to just give up. Yesterday, her friend marked her test paper wrong (marked a load wrong that were actually correct) and she knew this and just allowed the lower score to be recorded by the teacher without saying anything.

She seems to have lost her lust for life but I am not sure if it's just hormones. I don't think she is being bullied or anything. Is this just an age thing?

[Flum999]

Hi I have a similar problem.my daughter is 10 she crys a lot and seems to get upset over little things.she also sufferd with headaches a lot.She would come out of school upset on most days.it got to the stage where I did not know what to do.she also couldn't seem to keep a friend she always said they don't want to be my friend anymore.she said she wasent being bulled.i read her dairy one day and she had wrote she wanted to kill herself.i was so frightened I took her to the doctors.they have said she is suffering with really bad migraines and she has been put on 3 sets of tablets.she has to go back in April if she's no better they will refer her.she still gets upset but not as much she too is very sensitive,small things seem to get to her.the headaches are much better and she seems to cope with things better.

[OddBoots]

DD (10y9m) is having bouts of it but it's not all the time, sometimes she still her bouncy cheery self but has times when she gets in a strop for a few hours.

[lottieandmia]

Gosh, I'm sorry to hear that Flum. How worrying for you. I am glad the doctor was able to figure out a possible solution and hope your dd feels better soon.

I do think that as they get older the dynamics of friendships change, more is expected of them in terms of what work they are given etc. and maybe the fact that they have started the first stages of puberty doesn't help either.

I am sure my dd is not the only one like this. She has always been a bit prone to low moods but lately I have been quite worried. As you describe she gets really upset about little things and really over thinks comments that probably weren't even intended to wound.

[Flum999]

Am sure hormones play a large part.some children are just more sensitive than others.as you say am sure there are a lot more like them.all we can do is support them as much as we can.i hope your dd soon feels better and happier.

[lechers]

Yes!

I have a 10 year old, and whilst mostly lovely, does have a tendency to get a real strop on, when she becomes totally irrational, and it is like the whole world is about to end.

My friend is a year 5 teacher in a girls' school, and she says that the summer term of year 5 is just the worst. Suddenly the girls go feral get hormonal, and everything becomes a great drama. I am not looking forward to that!

[Journeytolight]

An 11 and 9 and a half year old here. DD1 isn't too moody but is answering back and getting quite angry which isn't like her normal cheerful and mature self. DD2 is just normal but I have a feeling hormones are going to kick in soon! Later it is going to be two hormonal preteens in the house. I can't wait!

[MaiTatenaTina]

I feel so comforted. DD has just become so snappy especially with her younger brother. She gets quite moody and can be very nasty. But when she is happy...she is happy. I think its hormones. We need to support them, let them know its normal/part of growing up and show them how to handle the feelings they have. My son can be quite annoying granted and I think he kinda enjoys the outbursts but at times it just gets too much!

[Dotty342kids]

My DD is only just 9 so not quite at this stage yet, but I know several parents of girls just in the school year above and I would say this is sounding very normal! That's not to belittle it, just to reassure you that you and your DD are not alone.
I don't have many suggestions right now, other than to support her and let her know (as I'm sure you are doing ) that it's normal to feel sad sometimes, that it'll pass, and that you love her lots.
Might also be worth going to a health food shop and looking at supplements which might provide a boost in terms of essential vitamins and minerals for this time of her life as I've heard these have made a difference for others and can help to lift moods?

[Ledkr]

I started a thread about my 12 yr old yesterday but at 10 she also started to have horrendous migraines and bad anxiety at night so couldn't sleep.
Thankfully that's gone now but she's very gobble instead