She’s just turned 10 a few weeks ago and it’s like a switch has flipped 🤦🏻♀️
She’s always been kind, sensitive, and quite “strait laced”, for want of a better word. Not one for breaking the rules. She’s bright as a button, a voracious reader, loves school, has a good group of friends.
And I’m still seeing these things. But she’s changing. It’s hard to articulate but I’ll try.
Firstly she started pushing back on little things. Uniform, for example. Wants to wear black leggings and trainers to school, which strictly speaking is not within the uniform policy. I don’t mind that, she finds tights uncomfortable and doesn’t like the school trousers, quite a few of them wear leggings and the school aren’t that strict. I bought her black trainers and some nice new leggings. Fine - but I did notice that this was a rule (albeit one that’s not really enforced) she was deliberately breaking. I actually was secretly quite pleased to see her pushing back a little bit.
But it’s escalated from there. Her sleep is atrocious. She goes to bed 8.30-9pm during the week (and we’re more relaxed at weekends) but can still be awake and pottering at midnight. I tuck her in with a book several times a night but she just won’t try to sleep. I can’t make her. It doesn’t matter how much I explain how important it is. Mornings are consequently very difficult, she won’t get up, we end up falling out. She suddenly does not care if she’s late.
Her mood swings are pretty extreme. She cries a LOT suddenly but can’t articulate why. She lurches between being very clingy with me and screaming bloody murder at me. I asked her to tidy her bedroom today (an utter pigsty) and she screamed that I am ruining her life. Then when I calmed her down she made me sit with her and watch a film, head on my lap, wouldn’t let me leave. She suddenly hates doing things like going for walks and will ruin it for everyone else with her moods and stomping around.
She’s very clever in her class but is stressing herself out about her schoolwork (her teacher is emphatic that she has no concerns about her work and that she’s doing really well). I feel like she’s putting a lot of pressure on herself suddenly. I don’t know why - it’s not coming from us? I’ve explained to her over and over that she’s doing fine, her best is all we can ask, but she doesn’t seem to be taking it on board.
She’s a young 10 compared to some of her peers. Isn’t remotely interested in fashion/skincare/tiktok etc like some of them. Doesn’t have a phone and has never expressed much of an interest in one (I’ve said not until secondary anyway). Loves her teddies and squishmallows, plays Barbie with her sister etc. I love that about her, that she’s young. She seems to be well-liked in her class, her friends are lovely and seem to be on her wavelength. We’ve had some minor issues with fall-outs lately but nothing too bad so far.
I think I just want to know if this is normal for this sort of age. I’m quite worried about her. I think a lot of this is likely because she’s exhausted (but I don’t really know what to do about that, I’ve tried changing her bedtime etc but she just refuses to close her eyes). But the crying for no reason also screams hormones to me. Would that be right? It would be great to hear from others with kids around this age, and what they are like.
(Sorry this is an actual book but once I started I couldn’t stop…).