Jake is 8 and Sam is 6. When Jake was 5 he hated to clean up his toys. Sam will still sit and complain about his meal for 2 hours if he is in one of his “moods.” No matter what age they are or how many stages they go through…it is always something. I really thought there would be some magical age where all of these little issues would go away…..it looks like I was wrong.
I am not sure what I expected. There was no age I had in mind..no time table. I just told myself that at some point, they would be more mature and the antics would end. Clearly, I was delusional 
Of course, the problems and behaviors change as they get older. Jake cleans up now without complaining, but he has moved on to arguing with me for more XBox time. Sam’s food issues still come up,but not as often. Now he seems to like arguing more with Jake.
Round and round we seem to go…we lose one quirk and pick up another. I am slowly coming to the realization that no matter what age the boys are….I will have to continue to be their teacher and mom and help them work through these things. After all, would I really be a mom if I did not have to get on them to get their clothes IN the hamper (not next to it) or remind them for the 15th time that lights need to be turned off when they leave a room?
What about your Tweens? Do you find yourself dealing with one thing after another?
Tags: ages, issues, kelly gump, problems, stages
