My 11yo middle child is in the throws of puberty, and the changes
occurring in her body have turned her into a complete hypochondriac.
Since New Year's Day she's had a complaint about some ache or pain every few minutes
from when she wakes up until she goes to sleep. She's been known to
wake us up in the middle of the night, or at dawn. No amount of
reassurance or scientific information has made a dent yet, although more
books on puberty from a child's perspective are on the way. Giving her
a daily 10 minutes of uninterrupted "complaint time" when she has my
undivided attention hasn't worked. Debunk one complaint and show how
that can't possibly happen, and she'll use the same complaint again in
10 minutes. Exercise hasn't worked. Sending her out to play with other
children hasn't worked. Mockery hasn't worked. Nothing has worked.
Her ability to drive us all bonkers has gone through the roof.
And suddenly I understood poltergeists, because this almost-pubescent child is so annoying as to make even dead people want to throw things at her. Gah!
1 comment:
Welcome to the world of puberty. I Just about dropped my computer when I read "even dead people want to throw things!"
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