“So, what have you been reading this summer that has been interesting?” I ask the unsuspecting 12 year old nephew sitting in the passenger seat of my mini-van. I often start sentences with, “I just read an article that said…” and my kids start to roll their pre-teen eyes. But in the mini-van, my nephew has entered my lair and my younger children perk up from the back seat waiting for his answer. No matter who gets in my car this summer, what that person is reading (or wants to read) is very likely going to be one of the major points of conversation. Over the years, I have found that it works especially well with middle school children to get the conversation going.

Playing an Appropriate Role in Your Middle Schooler’s Life

This is the first of a four-part series on the subject of overparenting.  Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks for posts on how to play an appropriate role in your child’s college admission process, college finance process, and in the life of your college student.

Middle school is usually the time when you may look at your child and think, “Who is this stranger in my house? Where did my little one go?”

For students considering various high school options, the school visit can be a crucial part of the decision making process. At private and charter schools, visit days are usually intimate experiences; often, much of the day is spent one-on-one with you, your parents, and various administrators, students, or high school admissions officers.

Middle school is an important transition time for students between childhood and the teen years, and yet it fills so many parents with dread. Many questions arise, like: What do I concentrate on now that my kids are older? What do they need to do now to get into a “good” college later? What’s the balance between hovering over them and letting them try and possibly fail?

While middle school is too early to truly start the college admissions process, there are a few skills that can make great advances during those tween years: