Question of the Week: Pre-teen Years and Embarrassing Moments

Pre-teen years and embarrassing moments go hand in hand. Falling down is something everyone does from time to time, but for an insecure tween, the experience can be a doozy. Young girls tend to handle such an experience using one of two options: Shrug it off and laugh, or cry and run off, hoping something worse happens so no one will remember. In middle school, I fell into the second option.

It was the last day of school in eighth grade. When the bell rang, the entire school burst through the double doors and sprinted to the parking lot. I ran full speed toward the buses, tripping over my own two feet. I face planted in front of a line of teachers waiting outside to say goodbye to the students. They glanced down at me, unfazed. I wanted to literally curl up and die. I picked myself up, and what was left of my dignity, and limped to my bus.

More embarrassing moments followed, but that one stuck with me, most likely because I was too mortified to share it with anyone when I was young. As I've gotten older, and raised a pre-teen girl, I've learned that sharing my embarrassing moments is actually therapeutic for me, and more important than sharing my successes. I discovered that kids, especially girls, ages 10-14, need relatability and reassurance. Think about your most embarrassing moment. Was there someone you could tell about your mortifying experience, or did you beat yourself up internally about it? Our pre-teen girls would benefit by having some healthy coping skills early on. Teaching our girls to laugh at themselves and confess their embarrassing moments with confidence could boost your tween's much needed self-esteem.

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Did you ever fall on your face in middle school?

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