8 year olds

[kindacrunchy]

Is 8 a difficult age?

[meemee]

yes it is. esp. for my child and her emotions it has been a pretty difficult year. not all the time but just when she has been moody. and i also notice more of an awareness of the world. she feels things more deeply.

for me - yes and no. no because she has become more grown up, understands things and is more accepting. difficullt because i see how intense her emotions are, the questions she asks and the emotional turmoil she goes through. 

i have had to change my parenting and 'listen' to her more. for instance when bullying became a problem at school she didnt want me to go to the teacher. she wanted to handle it (in 3rd grade) and then if it didnt work she was ok with me going to her teacher. yes. she handled it well and i didnt need to talk to the teacher (which i did check in and make sure everything was ok - dd's teacher wanted kids to write her notes about issues they were having and with whom and dd expressed herself to her teacher that way without taking names at first). 

her classmates are the worst they have ever been. most of her class is 9 and a few 10 year olds. in 3rd grade. girls have been v. catty and boys have been very physical.