Mamas with Teens and PreteensOh dear- the eye rolling, the attitude, the whines of 'OH MOM'... hormones? just a phase? being a teen is tough- being the mama of one is tougher...
OK, so 2 totally different ages, 2 different ways to deal?
Anyone with a, oh, 8 to 10 year old who is moody? Crabby? Emotional? Cries a lot? Happy too, yes, but just overall unpredictable and moody...??? Seems far too soon for any physical reasons, but maybe not? Not her period or anything, she will only be 9 in May. But do they get more emotional around this age?
My almost 15 year old never was that way. She was small for her age, still is, and never got that moodiness, etc. until later...13 or so? Now, she is almost 15, and man, she is up and down! PMS is killing me with her!!!!! Any ways to cope? Deal? Any ideas? Ways to help and deal?
__________________ "Custom will reconcile people to any atrocity."
George Bernard Shaw
I am about this question. With a 13 and 15 yo in my house some days I feel like I am swimming in mood swing hormones. And both of mine had it since about 9yo. Some days are definately easier than others. Most important to our survival (theirs and everyone elses) is to remember NOT to take it personally. They may feel their mood with all their being, and fling it around with such incredible passion, but it isn't about you or anything you did or even can do. Allow them space to feel what they are feeling. Hold them if they need holding. Give them space if they need that. Compassion is so important. Not engaging in a battle or getting sucked into their drama. Personally I know all too well the hell of mood swing so seeing them have to go through it is so hard.
HTH
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Katie ~ Mama to my sweet girls~Dylan(17),Kiah(16), and Anja(7)
And you have 3 girlies, and yourself...poor dh! LOL!!
My dh is already cringing even thinking about WHY Chels is so moody, and refuses to acknowledge the real reason...goodness forbid it means she is growing up, etc, etc...
Not to mention he's not sure what he's going to do with 3 girlies in the house (me, Chels and Sarah) all PMS'ing together...or at different times! Never ending PMS?!?
I just can't deal with one, let alone two! I get horrid PMS, and just feel selfish saying it, but for goodness, if they are as bad as I am?!? Oh....
Alicia will be 9 in May also. I'm there with the moodiness. She cries and gets angry. She'll get completely irrational. She's happy a lot, but it can turn on a dime with no warning. I wasn't expecting this so soon and I'm going to have to subscribe to this thread as I'd like to see what everyone else has to say.
My daughter is 9 and I'm seeing her moodiness emerge. It's strange, because I'm so annoyed, yet she's just like me and I think is this what I'm like? My god, how can my husband stand me? LOL She's so irritable, doesn't want me hugging or kissing her, wants to be left alone, is stubborn and impulsive. The other night, she decided to rearrange her bedroom furniture and nothing I could say would change her mind. This was at almost midnight and I did not feel like helping her. I wasn't surprised when I got up the next morning and found that she had moved everything herself. She's just like me, determined and nothing will stop her when she knows what she wants.
Isabelle is right in the middle of it too. She's 10.5 and has developed, physically, quite a bit in the past 6 mos.
One thing I've been doing is making her take evening primrose oil every day. I swear it helps. It may just be the placebo effect (I feel like I'm taking action to make it better therefore it really seems to be doing something) but I'm fine with that lol!
I've also been talking to her a LOT, compassionately and privately, about how the end goal needs to be to learn to disconnect the hormonally driven impulses and feelings from her actions. I've been really open about how I, too, (and all women to some degree) have times where my emotions and perspective are off due to hormones. But that feeling irrational isn't a license to behave irrationally...especially when it comes to your family. So we have a private code for gently pointing out that behavior needs to be examined and maybe a break needs to be taken.
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~Dannielle
Momma to Isabelle (8/95) and Mason (1/01)
I find that if I feed her good, nutritious food (make a yummy, healthy school lunch, have lots of yummy healthy stuff to snack on) and exercise her, have her walk to and from school and lure her on hikes with promises of gifts (lol) then she is in a better mood in general.
OH yes, dd will be 9 in June and she is so moody. Most of the time I feel like I have to walk on eggshells because I just don't know how she will react to something. And of course she is at that "she knows everything and mom knows nothing" stage. UGH!!!
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Cherise
SAHMama to 3 blessings~ Abbigail, Steven and Austin
I can certainly sympathize with you. My 15 year old DD is so moody for about 2 weeks out of the month. It's driving me CrAzY!! I try to give her space and then I'm not paying enough attention, I give her lots of attention then I'm smothering her?? What happened to my sweet little girl? The other day we were looking at pictures and my DS (8) said "Oh, remember that?" "That's when Tatiana was nice". It made me really sad. Because all I could say was "Yes, I remember."
Unfortunately, I'm reading this thread to see if anyone had any advice for you... I only have sympathy and hugs.
Lisa
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Lisa
Mama to 4 wonderful kids
Chris 23, Tatiana 16, Ricky 9, Julia Rose 6
Aww Lisa...so funny, but not...my Sarah and Justin said the same thing recently! Justin usually loves to stay home with Chels while I run errands. A few months ago he made the comment that he doesn't know if he wants to stay home with her, she's too "mean" now. Ugh...
The this weekend Sarah did something to Chels, I asked Sarah how she felt and to consider apologizing...she considered it, lol, then said "Why? Chels is always mean to me like that and worse!"...Ugh.....
Yeah Denise, I laughed at first because it was true. But then Julia said, "yeah I remember when she was nice too", and then, the two of them started the "remember when she used to play with us", "remember when she used to let us in her room".... Until I had to redirect the conversation because it was getting out of hand.
She is however, able to be nice to other people and thier children. "It must be wonderful to have such a lovely daughter to help around the house and with the younger children"
Some days are definately easier than others. Most important to our survival (theirs and everyone elses) is to remember NOT to take it personally. They may feel their mood with all their being, and fling it around with such incredible passion, but it isn't about you or anything you did or even can do. Allow them space to feel what they are feeling. Hold them if they need holding. Give them space if they need that. Compassion is so important. Not engaging in a battle or getting sucked into their drama. Personally I know all too well the hell of mood swing so seeing them have to go through it is so hard. 
Cherise
Oh Denise!!
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