When They Are Ten

At ten they have shed off all baby fat. Or most of it. At ten, they are fast outgrowing their outfits and their shoe sizes are seemingly changing every new school term. At ten they are growing real tall. And they love to benchmark their height against yours. At ten , they are reading Diary Of A Wimpy Kid. Or Dork Diaries. Hopefully not Dork Diaries. Mum hates Dork Diaries. But that makes Dork Diaries more interesting. The fact that mum does not approve. See, at ten, they are starting to become “their own person”. Shedding off mum’s towering influence. Sifting through what they have been taught and what they have observed during the first decade of their life , trying to get what’s important. What to keep. At ten, they know how they like their hair.

Black-girl-in-school

Photo : madamenoire.com

At ten, you have talked to them about the birds and the bees. Oh, I really hope you have. This is the Information Age. You’ve got to beat the internet to it! And they DO have access to the internet. You might not have got them a Smartphone yet, but their friends from school already have a tablet. At ten, they know children don’t drop from heaven.

At ten they are still going to Sunday school. But only because big people church is too boring. Besides, they screen cartoons at Sunday school! At ten, they have watched Frozen. And Boxtrolls. And Brave. Especially, Brave. They know by heart, half of Merida’s lines.

At ten, they sound real grown up….and they have mastered the art of negotiation. “Mum, before you lecture me (ha!), I WILL actually finish all the food on my plate; it’s just that I am eating the fish first…” At ten they know which foods make healthy choices. Whether they make those choices or not is another story all together…

At ten, they know money does not come from the ATM. They know that money is earned. In fact, that’s why mum and dad go to work every morning. Except when they are on leave. At ten, they wonder why the said leave, does not ALWAYS coincide with their school holidays.

At ten, they are transitioning into the formative decade from which they will emerge as young adults. And honestly, that is a little scary for mum and dad , but also exciting at the same time!

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**Bunny turned ten on 29th December 2014.

 

 

 

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