Скачать или смотреть Nature of the Beast: Middle School Parenting Tips You Need for Grades 6–8

Welcome back to Nature of the Beast, our special back-to-school series where we break down what parents can really expect at every age and stage. This week, we’re tackling the land of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders — otherwise known as The Years of Maximum Awkwardness.

Middle school is messy, hilarious, dramatic, delightful, exhausting… and sometimes all of those things before breakfast. To help parents navigate this wild developmental phase, Sam sits down with Mary Foard — veteran middle school counselor, former teacher, and mom of middle school twins — to talk about what actually happens in grades 6–8 and how parents can stay grounded while their kids launch themselves into new social, emotional, and academic territory.

In this episode, we dive into:
✨ Why middle school is one of the biggest developmental leaps of childhood
✨ The art of holding boundaries without needing your child to agree with you
✨ Grade-by-grade insight: 6th, 7th, and 8th — what’s normal, what’s not, and what’s “very middle school”
✨ How to survive the sarcasm, the comparisons, the drama, and the doorframe-jumping energy
✨ Why “get context first” will save your sanity every time

Sam also shares a hilarious (and painfully relatable) story from her own middle-school years — featuring a gymnastics vault, a very unhelpful spotter, and a librarian with a video camera the size of a small car. Spoiler: it does not end gracefully.

If you’re raising a middle schooler — or will be soon — this episode will help you worry less, connect more, and maybe even laugh at the madness. You’re not alone. And yes, there is a way to make it through these years with your relationship intact.

🎧 Listen to the full episode of Parenting Shrink Wrapped wherever you get your favorite podcasts.
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