6th Grader Rant

[oktx]

I knew that question would come up...don't mind it. I realize there are many different takes on this.

I was whipped as a kid. Heck, my mom would make me pick a switch and dad had both a paddle and many belts...I responded pretty dang well to it.

I whipped him until a few years ago as I felt that he was NOT responding well to it and I was concerned that I was making things worse. Decided to back down and began grounding him.

Take his phone. He will see the light.

[D-BULL]

My boy was the same way, took his iphone away for a week and that straightened his arse up!

[Spoken0313]

if you think 12 is fun wait for 13 and 14

[rileydog]

When my son turned 13 I took him on a rite of passage weekend. We did a Bible study together based on the book "Raising a Biblical Knight" (?) and also laid out some new expectations. We gave him some more "adult" tasks as kind of a promotion from kids chores. We began prepping him for the responsibility of driving by talking about building trust and recognizing wise decisions. He battled the bad attitude, a little bit of depression, and some yelling back and forth. But he has been and still is an awesome young man (just turned 20).
If I had one thing to do over, I would definitely take more days to spend with my son.

[buck40]

Thanks to all for quick replies. Some very sound advice.

[mikemorvan]

he may possibly be depressed. Yes, childhood depression is a thing...and it is real.

word

[MBV77]

word

[emoji23]


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[tdwinklr]

Disrespect from family ... nope, there's no room for that. Get enough of that anywhere else in the world.

[Stuck]

if you think 12 is fun wait for 13 and 14

Yup. My first thought was “you’re really not going to like 16”.

[RifleBowPistol]

I'd take a hard look at his friends. Especially the ones that you barely know. Bad friends can bring down a kid faster than anything. Especially since he probably spends more time with them than you due to school.

Very true. You can teach them right from wrong, but if they start hanging out with some other kid or kids that don't know right from wrong, they can be a very bad influence and cause all types of problems.

It's a good idea to always keep track of who your kids hang around with, even when they seem like they are doing good.

[ByronB]

Could be numerous things going on in that little brain of his. Must be something bothering him. It sounds like he has more positives going for him though based on your description. He is very involved. Does he need a break from anything? Does he hang out with the kids from his select ball team? I ask because during the ten years my son played tournament ball most of the kids had the same train of thought, energy, drive, good attitudes, etc. Maybe take him to a counselor. Like others mentioned.....depression is real. My Wife and I went through this with our son when he was 17 or 18. He had quite a few colleges looking at him for College Baseball......he hurt his shoulder and never played an inning at the next level. He was not in a good spot for almost a year. It was not a good time in our household. We did everything we could to take his mind off of the negatives. At your son’s age I would talk to a professional about it. Too much at stake. Hope all goes well for your Family.

[Landrover]

I can only share what my dad did with me as I only have a daughter.
Get about 7 yards of dirt, mulch, etc delivered and put a shovel in his hand...……..tell him to get after it! Lots of time to think about it and select baseball would not exist this summer.

[brokeno]

Probably needs to father to son come to Jesus merting. If that don't work probably needs his butt whipped.

[Guest]

He may possibly be depressed. Yes, childhood depression is a thing...and it is real.

Yes it is very much so
I was very depressed around that age and it wasn’t for any reason that I could find I had a great family, warm house to live in, never went hungry, we were pretty poor but never had abusive parents or anything. I worked out twice a day from age 12-now and I started working at a water well company the summer of my 12 year pulling water wells I worked there from then all the way through high school. So I had a physical job and always had food in my belly but for some reason around 12-14 I was deeply depressed but I never talked and definitely not back talked my parents they would have knocked my teeth out
Hope it levels out for the young man

[smokeless]

Sounds like y’all need to go fishing more. Sitting in a boat talking can do wonders. Let him know that the lack of respect will not be tolerated. Then move on. Talk about life and the changes he’s feeling now. Most of all tell him you love him. Those three words can be a game changer. And if that don’t work, throw him in the water. Tell him I’ll meet you at the dock.