Middle School
Personal and Social
Development
Middle School Students’ Developmental Needs
Middle school is an exciting, yet challenging time for students, their parents and teachers. During this passage from childhood to adolescence, middle school students are characterized by a need to explore a variety of interests, connecting their learning in the classroom to its practical application in life and work; high levels of activity coupled with frequent fatigue due to rapid growth; a search for their own unique identity as they begin turning more frequently to peers rather than parents for ideas and affirmation; extreme sensitivity to the comments from others; and heavy reliance on friends to provide comfort, understanding and approval.
Resources for Parents
Recommended Websites
1. http://education.educ.indiana.edu/cas/adol/mental.html-Center for Adolescent and Family Studies
2. http://www.bullying.org/-Information on school bullying
3. http://www.nmha.org/infoctr/factsheets/72.cfm-National -Mental Health Association
4. http://www.save.org/- Suicide Awareness Voices of Education
5. http://www.chadd.org/- Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
6. http://www.behavioradvisor.com/ - Behavior Advising website
7. http://www.stepfamily.net/ - Step Family
Network
Recommended Books
1. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by Mary Pipher (Mass Market Paperback -- October 1, 2002)
2. Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood by William S. Pollack (Paperback -- April 1999)
3. Your Ten to Fourteen Year Old by Louise Bates Ames and Frances Ilg, M.D., and Sidney M. Baker, M.D.
4. The Roller Coaster Years by Charlene Gianneti, et al
5. How to Handle Bullies, Teasers and other Meanies by Kate Cohen
6. Teenagers With ADD: A Parents' Guide (The Special-Needs Collection) by Chris A. Zeigler Dendy, Chris A. Zeigler Dendy (Paperback -- October 1995)
7. Anger: How to Help Children and Teens Manage Their Anger by Bernard, Ph.D. Golden (Hardcover -- November 2002)
8. Positive Discipline for Teenagers: Empowering Your Teens and Yourself Through Kind and Firm Parenting by Jane Nelson Lynn Lott (Paperback -- April 2000)
9. Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman (Paperback -- March 4, 2003)