The phase when there’s never enough groceries, too many hormones, and a dramatic kid that needs someone to prove, "Who cares?"
Sixth Grade:
PARENT RESOURCE CENTER
The place you’re most likely to notice the growth is in your grocery bill. Buy in bulk. Keep carbs handy. This might be a good year to shop the discount aisle.
In 52 weeks, your Child may grow 3 inches & gain 10 pounds.
Doors will be slam. Drama will happen. But amid all the ups and downs, now is the time to lean in even more closely. When they push, Prove you can’t be pushed away. When they change, Prove you will love them consistently. When they break your trust, prove you are someone who can be trusted. It may be challenging, but keep showing up there’s never any reason to wonder, “Who cares?”
There will be tears (Both yours and theirs).
Your sixth grader may still want to sleep with their stuffed animal--and also their new cell phone. They may appear sloppy and unkempt one moment and preppy and overdressed the next they may be silly ,sad, mean, or affectionate. That what makes every day (or hour) a new opportunity to discover who this growing person is now.
No phase has less consistency.
the Sixth Grade Phase
welcome to
Embrace your preteen's identity through pruning and shaping them on their faith journey. Subtle but consistent nudges in this stage have the potential to propel your child on through the stage that comes next.
prune patiently
In Middle School:
In the sixth Grade phase, your is to affirm their personal journey.
- Middle schoolers think like an engineer. | You help them learn when you… connect the dots.
- Middle schoolers want to know, “Who do I like?” | You coach them when you… Provide stability.
- Middle schoolers are motivated by acceptance. | You coach them when you… affirm their value.
Think. Want. Motivate.
Rhythms & Responses
Make the most of Each moment (Eph 5:16)
Click to read more
Why Rhythms & Responses Matter:
Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Eph 5:15–16)
In other words: Life is short & the days are evil. Days, however, are also opportunities.
Our English word opportunity comes from a Latin word meaning, “toward the port,” suggesting that a ship can take advantage of the winds and tides to navigate safely toward the harbor.
The brevity of life makes it all the more important to make the best use of the opportunities God gives us. Much like a ship, in life's short journey, there are winds and tides that can be leveraged for a good purpose.
In Paul’s time, when Roman persecution was on the way, how foolish to waste opportunities to win the lost when soon those opportunities might be taken away! In the moments we have with our children, this is why our rhythms and responses matter: that by the grace of God, we could redeem the time we have, no matter how fleeting or frustrating.
Listen to their heart by staying available--just in case.
Bed TIME
Establish values with intentional conversations while you eat together.
Meal TIME
Interpret life during informal conversation as you travel.
Drive TIME
Instill purpose when you start the day with encouraging words.
MORNING TIME
be wise with your time.
"That’s a great question. I don’t know, but we can find out."
"Can we pray about this together?
"The way you live can
show others who Jesus is."
be wise with your words.
This year you will provoke discovery so your sixth grader will own their faith and value a faith community.
Your sixth grader needs consistent, positive friends and mentors--now more than ever before.
This year, help them strengthen their church relationships, and stay engaged in their personal faith journey by having conversations at home.
show authentic faith
– Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Our aim as parents
Child Developments & Change
Your Child's Growing Capabilities (1 Cor 3:2)
Click to read more
Why Development & Change Matters:
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready. (1 Cor 3:1-2)
At one point in time, you had to start out with the basics. As you learned and you grew, you were able to handle more difficult things. This is why Paul compares himself to a mother in places like 1 Cor 4:15 and 1 Thess 2:7.
A major part of intentional Christian parenting means giving your children what they need when they need it. By being aware of their milestones and tendencies, you can adjust their goals with their capabilities.
Then, as they near their next milestone, you're there waiting to celebrate, and you're ready to give them more. A good parent knows when their children need to grow. Instead of just leaving them with milk, like Paul, we should desire to give them more and more as they become ready for it.
As your child grows, this is why you need to navigate the changes well: that by the grace of God, you could help them stretch and learn to know the Gospel at every age. To do this, you can't just meet them where they are, you must know how to gently push them on where they need to go.
- Often masks emotions to fit in
- Benefits from talking about what they are feeling and why
- Struggles with decision-making
- Lies more than in any other phase
- May become preoccupied with perceived abilities and undervalue persistence, effort, and practice
- Debates often, but argues more from emotion than logic
emotionally
- Seeks peer approval and conformity
- Often displays worst behavior at home (especially with mom)
- Values non-parental influences
- May have romantic interests and experiment with physical affection
socially
- Enjoys learning new skills and being challenged
- Increasingly able to grasp abstract concepts like “justice”
- Growing ability to see the world from different perspectives
- Differentiates actions from motives and tries to discern motives (although they frequently misinterpret those motives)
- Sudden brain growth may lead to forgetfulness
mentally
- Needs lots of food and 9-11 hours of sleep each night
- Girls begin outpacing guys in development
- Guys experience changes in height and weight, an increase in hormones, and possible acne
- Girls experience changes in height and body shape; may begin menstruation (10-16 years)
physically
your child is changing...
In Middle School, the big conversation is social media. Be ready to help them navigate that, and many more questions, with wisdom.
Resources For This Stage
No matter how much you prepare, no matter how much you work, you're going to miss something. You're going to mess up. You're going to say or do something you regret. And yes, God can redeem even your short-comings as a parent.
To the best of our ability, we can hope that we use the tools given to us to be Godly parents, grandparents, and mentors. But thanks be to God that the salvation of the children in our care does not depend solely on us.
To play on Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 3, I ask: What then is a father? What then is a mother? One can plant, and one can water, but it is God who gives the increase.
So, as a parent, do what you can. And aim to do it well. But trust that God, who is able to do far more abundantly than all that you could ask or think, will be glorified throughout all generations, even yours.
God's got this.
This all might sound like a lot, but I can assure you...
201 s. peachtree parkway, ptc, ga | contact us | IMAGES By Maddyem photography