Assignment 9 - 12 years old

Sam is surely coming into his own as a teenager.  The signs of puberty are surfacing.  At first it was his behavior that I noticed.  He has become increasingly interested in girls, in fact he was addimit about getting his 7th grade clothes squared away at the start of summer.   He wanted to be certain he was looking cool for school.   Additionally, I came across his personal web page that had some rather crude comments about girls and he had lied about his age and a few other personal details.  I reminded Sam about Internet etiquette as well as safety.   Lieing isn't necessarily new to Sam.  But lieing about his age to "impress" others certainly seems to be a pubescent thing to do.

Sam has been arguing with me quite a bit.  Mostly over chores, clothes and bedtime.  We seem to be working those arguments out by making reasonable concessions like a later bed time for more chores.  He is also becoming more moody.   Sometimes he gets rude with me, which I put in check right away, reminding him to be respectful. 

We had an incident the summer before 7th grade, where Sam and some friends broke into the elementary school to play basketball.  The police notified parents immediately.  Sam was scared and embarrassed.  We felt Sam learned a very important lesson about morals that day.  He knew what he had done was wrong and was willing to face the consequences.  Ultimately we only grounded him for the weekend.  We felt the police and embarrassment coupled with the weekend restriction was punishment enough.

As for physical growth.  Sam is growing like a weed and is always hungry.  I've decided the best thing to do to keep him away from the junk food is to keep a plentiful stash of healthy snack choices in his backpack.  It seems to be helping him make good food choices.   Sam is becoming more and more interested in sports.  He still has not reached his goals of number of home runs and playing in the infield.  We've been practicing at home more often on the weekends to help him meet his own ambitions with baseball.

Sam's temperament has definitely changed.  I first noticed his shifting from a controlled temperament to a more resilient temperament when he turned 10.   He seems to have gotten his timidness worked out.  He is handling his frustrations better and is getting a long better with his peers.  Although a bit quiet Sam is  well liked and  respected among est his clique at school.

The biggest changes that have occurred to affect Sam's temperament are purely us being aware of his over controlled behavior and trying to correct by positive reinforcements and encouraging Sam to become more involved with sports, music, art and school.   I think over the past few years Sam has recognized that he is an intelligent and  talented individual who has much to offer and little to hide.  I believe this has helped his self esteem which has helped him become resilient.

Sam is highly academic he excels in all aspects of study by obtaining straight A's.   Sam is an avid reader and always has been.  We've tried to encourage his reading every step of the way.  Most recently he has become interested in current events, so Sam and I read the paper every morning to discuss events that are of interest to him.  We have encouraged Sam's interest in Science every step of the way by getting him involved in every school science fair we could.  Additionally, he went to Science camp for a week.  We've continued to praise Sam for his great efforts.  Every Semester when Sam gives his best effort we go out to a special dinner and allow him to make a special purchase as a monetary reward for his great effort.  Sam knows his job is to go to school and do well.  We do not feel it appropriate to "pay" him for his grades.  It is what is expected.  We only ask that he do his best.  His best just happens to be A's.  He has certainly set the bar high for his sister.