How is your middle schooler's attitude these days?

[Anonymous]

6th grader here - mostly happy, completing assignments well with little help from me. I have caught him playing Minecraft edu during a few school zooms, though. He has occasional whininess and difficultly following instructions sometimes unless I take away screentime, but I’m thinking that’s fairly normal. His school is moving to a hybrid next week after over a month of virtual, and I’m bracing myself for a rough transition (we remaining fully virtual).

[Anonymous]

Knock on the wood, but mine has been closest to what she usually is/was pre-pandemic since schools started. She was unbearable for the past few months, to the point that I made an appointment with a child's psychiatrist to see if we needed to start medication for depression/anxiety or ADHD (she was diagnosed a couple of years ago but never did medication before).

But she was so moody, moppy, negative, uninterested... I was really worried.

I changed a couple of things since school started besides putting her on a low dose of Concerta (18mg): now she does her homework/assignments while sitting by my side and I go over with her to make sure she has done everything - a little bit each day to not get overwhelmed. I require that she turns on her video camera during school for most of the time, especially morning meetings. I fill her planner for her (the planner is a new thing) and try to spread out the assignments throughout the week so they are manageable.


But I think being able to see her friends again, have a routine again, and have a scheduled time to chat with her friends (after school) for 30-45 min has been extremely helpful! She is even wanting to spend time with me again and wants to share her interests.

I really hope this continues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine is negative almost all the time. ADHD-inattentive, but truthfully he likes remote school better than in person school. He just hates school. He seems to hate everything that isn't tech/video game related. (He's in therapy. It helps a little.)

Why do you allow video games in the home, especially around a child that clearly can't handle them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like a roller coaster. Super happy, then super angry. Very Jekyll and Hyde

This is DS. Eating a lot, growing, mood all over the place. Very dramatic over everything.

[Anonymous]

Schools closed, sports interrupted, terrible for our 14 yr old. Feels caged, frustrated, needing peer interaction, taking more risks, more defiant. Really tough.