Developmental Milestones for 12-14 Year Olds

Children in this age group might:

Show more concern about body image, looks, and clothes
Focus on themselves; going back and forth between high expectations and lack of confidence
Experience more moodiness
Show more interest in and influence by peer group
Be less affectionate toward parents; sometimes might seem rude or short-tempered
Feel stress from more challenging school work
Develop eating problems
Feel a lot of sadness or depression, which can lead to poor grades at school, alcohol or drug use, unsafe sex, and other problems

Children in this age group might:

When a Neuropsychological Evaluation and Consultation may be appropriate:

Your child has struggled to manage the organizational, planning, and time management demands of middle school.
Your child is distressed by the added social demands of middle school.
Your child has specific difficulty with written production.
Your need to “hover” and “helicopter” has increased to maintain past levels of success.
Your child has not developed a core group of friendships
Your child’s ability to compensate for mild attention weaknesses has lessened.
Your child is discharged from an educational program despite ongoing difficulties.
The process of completing homework is marked by discord and anger between you and your child.
Your child emotional status is increasingly complex.
Your child’s self-confidence towards learning appears eroded.
Your child’s medical team has raised concern about how their past history may impact learning.
Your child’s behavior is radically different at home than in school.
Your child’s academic achievement has significantly dropped after transitioning from a predominately single teacher to multiple teacher system.

Following are some things you, as a parent, can do to help your child during this time:

Be honest and direct with your teen when talking about sensitive subjects such as drugs, drinking, smoking, and sex.
Meet and get to know your teen’s friends.
Show an interest in your teen’s school life.
Help your teen make healthy choices while encouraging him to make his own decisions.
Respect your teen’s opinions and take into account her thoughts and feelings. It is important that she knows you are listening to her.
When there is a conflict, be clear about goals and expectations (like getting good grades, keeping things clean, and showing respect), but allow your teen input on how to reach those goals (like when and how to study or clean).