Middle School Makeover strikes several important balances that ultimately would have otherwise dulled the efficacy of the information. It is both easy to read and follow/quick read yet also extremely informative. It provides both general information on your child’s development (how the brain is changing, why they are behaving as they are) but also very specific information on how to deal with the most common problems middle schoolers face. It is friendly and personal yet the ideas feel very universal and applicable. There is a lot of technical information (with appropriate citing of resources) and yet the information never overwhelms.
The Middle School years are those starting around 6th grade and up to high school. But those with younger kids, 4-6th grade, will find this very useful in preparing how to handle the upcoming tween years. A lot of the advice in the book is also very suitable for high school kids as well.
The book is broken down into three parts. The first 1/3 discusses why tweens change, how their brains are developing, and why they act/react as they do. There is a lot of information, some technical, but the author does an excellent job of making that information accessible without dumbing it down too much. The next 1/3 goes over specific situations and how to handle them: being bullied, being the bully, social integration or ostracization, technology (cell phones, internet aps, Instagram, etc.), giving them independence vs keeping them safe, etc. The author uses both specific examples (e.g., a frenemy at school telling your daughter her shirt is ugly) but also shows how there is a universal truth in each of the approaches that makes them applicable to a lot of different situations. The last part discusses how parents can makeover themselves to be better prepared for the middle school years.
At heart, this book is about how parents can react so they don’t shut their child down from communicating to them and how to help kids deal with developing identity, emotions, and decision making/growing independence.
To read this from cover to cover took all of two hours. Yet there is quite a bit packed into the book as well. The author resists overstating or repeating the key concepts to make the book easier to read. Having specific tween school situations in the back makes this a good ‘go-to’ reference book (e.g., when tweens want to know about specific sexual situations talked about at school).
In all, I am very glad to have read this book in preparation for my 11 year old becoming a teen. I learned quite a bit and will continue to reference this book in years to come.
Reviewed from an ARC.
The Online Eccentric Librarian 