Haven’t we all heard at some point in parenting our toddlers that old adage, “just wait for the teen years”? It somewhat dimishes the troubles we are facing at the time, but it is usually coming from a mother who knows and has been through both stages of development. Well here I am parenting one child with a light case of the horrible threes, another bouncing eagerly towards the terrible twos, and finally the subject of todays post, the boy itching to be a preteen.

See my 10 year old has always been the adorable, delightful type that everyone has wanted to be around. This is not a mom bragging here, I am just saying he has been almost abnormally good his whole life. In fact the biggest complaint we have ever received is that he is too friendly (meaning he is super talkative).

Recently however, this sweet little boy of mine has been perfecting his new role as a “know it all”. Whenever he asks a question, he is compelled to spout out , “I knew that, I was just checking”, after I respond. Or if he is asked to do something, before the request can be completed he feels compelled to abrubtly stop me to sharply say “I KNOW”!  Oddly enough you would think that knowing everything would be an advantage, oh like when I need him to find something he has lost, however this is when his career choice of “space cadet” shines through. See the child can find almost nothing! I mean it. If he was holding it seconds before or if it is directly in front of his face, he is oblivious. Also unless something is specifically asked of him, it rarely gets done. Like teeth brushing. Unless I say it, EVERY time, he does not brush his teeth, and when I say “do a good job” I get the inevitable “I KNOW”!

Now I am not saying that this previously angelic child of mine has turned completely over to the dark side of teens years as he is very much still in love with his sisters and can be super helpful, but I almost feel blindsided by the body language and attitude that I didn’t expect for a few years yet.