Your nine- to twelve-year old no longer requires the constant supervision and care that a younger child needs, but isn`t yet pushing too hard for the freedoms yearned for by teenagers. Happily or ominously, the signs of approaching adolescence are unmistakably there. Issues addressed in The Preteen Years include freedom and responsibility (living with rules; leaving your child at home alone or to babysit); your preteen`s social life (peer pressure, parties and sleepovers); puberty (how to talk about menstruation, sex and personal hygiene); and preteen pleasures (responding to kids` sometimes unusual interests, pop culture and social causes). The Steps and Stages series blends expert advice and parental experience to tackle the typical - but by no means simple - challenges and milestones you and your child will face at each stage of development. Chock full of anecdotes, tips and resources, these unique books address the everyday, practical issues of raising kides - issues that all parents wonder about, but few parenting guides discuss.