Imagine trying to teach a bird to climb a tree. Do you think you might have some “behavior issues” from the bird? Would they succeed? Would you, as the teacher, be frustrated? When we don’t consider where preteens are developmentally, we are setting them up for a similar failure, and setting ourselves up for a similar frustration.
Sometimes what we think is a behavior issue in a preteen is just an outflow of where they are developmentally.
Understanding preteens’ development can help to approach their behavior with empathy and peace, as opposed to judgement and frustration. It can also help us to structure our events, environments, and services in ways that set them up for success.
Here are three ways you can begin the journey of understanding preteens:
Do you have a great resource for understanding preteens? Share with us in the comment section on the bottom of the webpage where this episode is posted. Please. :-)
By the way…
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.