For now, bathe daily or every other day. Wash your hair every other day or every 2 days. Washing it every day is unnecessary, because your hair will feel dry. Every other day or every 2 days is a good balance between too dry and too oily hair. Brush your teeth at least twice a day. This prevents painful cavities, and it reduces a need to go to the dentist. Brushing your teeth also minimizes bad breath, which is not something you want others to smell! Wash your face every day to prevent infections and oil build-up. This is especially important during puberty, when your face produces more oil. The oil on your face causes acne (pimples, blackheads, whiteheads). Comb your hair every morning to make sure your hair isn’t messy or frizzy. You don’t want to go to school with bed hair (unless it’s Crazy Hair Day at your school)! Wash your hands every time you go to the bathroom and before every meal. You touch a lot of surfaces at school (doorknobs, desks, school supplies, dirty clothing, etc. ). All of these contain a lot of bacteria and viruses. Wash your hands after you go to the bathroom to avoid spreading germs onto your body, and wash your hands before meals to avoid spreading germs onto your food.
Elementary/primary schools have a variety of clubs, like chess, soccer, robotics, art, and math clubs. Check to see if there is a club you are interested in. If there isn’t, you can request for the principal or head of your school to make one! You can join as many clubs as you want. You can join two, three, or even four clubs if you have the time and energy. Don’t join too many though, because you might be very stressed out with too many clubs to tackle.
Being confident gives you the courage to try new things and to stand up for yourself. Don’t listen to anyone who says you’re stupid, ugly, fat, weird, or a failure. Those people are mean, and you shouldn’t listen to mean people. People can be mean for many reasons. Some kids just want attention. Others might feel terrible about themselves, and bully others to make themselves feel better. They might say that someone is fat to hide their own feelings of being fat (insecurities). Many bullies copy people around them, and bully others because their parents, relatives, or friends do so.
Tell the people, “No, I’m not going to do that. " firmly and confidently as a first step. Ignore these people. If it gets serious, report the people to a parent, relative, teacher, or another trusted adult.
Your teachers, good friends, parents, and relatives are all here to help you! Good teachers, friends, parents, and relatives won’t judge you for whatever questions you ask. Don’t be ashamed or afraid to ask. If you have a question at school, raise your hand. Wait patiently for the teacher to answer and try not to talk out of turn. When the teacher calls on you, say, “(person’s name), I have a question. " Then, say what you need help with. Say something like, “Ms. Smith, I’m not sure how to do this multiplication problem. Could you help me?” or “Sam, I don’t understand this question. Adding fractions is confusing to me. Can you help me?”
For all genders, you may get more body odor and acne. This is annoying at times, since others may bully you for your pimples or smell. The classmates in your class might be immature and think that puberty is “disgusting” or “weird”. It is totally normal to have puberty in elementary/primary school. Don’t listen to those immature classmates, and tell a teacher if they continue to bully you. To combat body odor, start showering or bathing daily. Wash your face every day to prevent too much acne. You should wash your hair every other day also, since more oil will be produced on your scalp. For females, you start growing body hair on your armpits, private parts, and legs. Next, your breasts may start to grow, and your old undershirts won’t fit anymore. Then, usually at the ages 8-13, you’ll have periods when your uterus sheds tissue and blood every month for 3-7 days. After a few years, your breasts might be large enough for cup bras, your hips will widen, and you have reached your adult height. This usually happens at the ages 14-18. You’ll need to ask a female caretaker or relative to buy you a training bra if your breasts become uncomfortable in small undershirts. Some kids start their periods early in elementary/primary school, at the ages 8-10. This is completely normal, since every female’s body is different. Check out this article to deal with your period in elementary/primary school. For males, you usually start growing body hair on your armpits, private parts, legs, and chest. Next, your private parts will start to grow in size. When this happens, you might frequently get erections (when the penis gets engorged) or wet dreams because of your hormones. You get both of these from thinking of romantic thoughts, or they could be totally random. This usually happens at the ages 9-15. Then, your Adam’s apple grows (which will deepen your voice), and you might grow some facial hair. After a few years, your muscles will have grown larger, and you have reached your adult height. Some kids start puberty in elementary/primary school. This is completely normal, since every male’s body is different. Check out this article and this article to deal with male puberty.
Before school starts, during break times, lunch, or after school, come up to a kid and say something like, “Hi, I’m Edward. What do you like doing on the weekends?”, “Hello! My name’s Izzy. What’s your name?”, or “Hello. I’m Caroline. Do you like drawing?” If they are interested in the same things as you, you can continue the conversation until you have to go or if school starts. If they are not interested in the conversation or don’t share common interests with you, end the conversation by saying, “Thanks! It was nice knowing you, Isiah. Goodbye!”, “Nice! I’ll have to leave since I have science class next. Bye Nicolas!”, or “Sorry Kate, but I have things to do. I’ll have to leave now. Bye!” after the person has stopped talking.
They are probably interested in the club like you, so talk to them about your interests and hobbies.
If you want to make friends that aren’t in your class or grade, attend them. You may need permission by your caretakers/guardians to go to certain events, like field trips. Ask them first, then go there. If they don’t allow you, it’s ok! There are many more places to make friends, like school and clubs.
Turn assignments in on time. Don’t wait until the last day, hour, or minute to do something. This will make you very stressed, since you will have a lot of assignments overdue. You can even get a head start on assignments by doing classwork and homework in class. Ask for help when you need it. As explained in the previous section, asking for help is important in excelling in elementary school.
Many kids who take notes copy the whole textbook down. They don’t summarize points or make their writing concise enough. Concise means writing a short amount that can summarize the information well. For example, you can just write, “The stomach digests food. " instead of “The stomach, an organ in the digestive system, digests food using acids and its muscles. " if you have already written how the stomach digests food in previous notes. Write neatly. Don’t rush through your notes. If you need them to study, you won’t be able to read your handwriting! You won’t understand what important notes you wrote, leading to bad grades on assignments. Write neatly and take your time. If your hand hurts, rest for a few minutes before writing again.
If you get a C (60%-70%) when you usually get As or Bs, that’s ok! Continue to ask for help if you need it, and have a support system made up of friends, teachers, and caretakers. If your caretakers expect you to get perfect scores (As which equals 90%-100% in percentage scores) all the time, this can impact your confidence. You may be worried about getting a B or below, even if your grades are excellent. Don’t let this get to you and know that it is normal to make mistakes. No one’s a robot, and even robots have errors once in a while.
If you really want to play with a new action figure or toy car, put it away in a cabinet, drawer, or your toy chest. Close and lock it to prevent you from playing with it. If you want to play with a doll or fidget with a bracelet, put it in a drawer or cabinet. If you like browsing with a tablet to watch videos/play games, but need it to do homework, ask your parents to install apps that track which websites you visit. These website trackers can block websites and set time limits.
Try going on a bike ride after school or during the weekends. If the weather’s bad, exercise indoors by dancing and doing yoga. Run around your backyard or play with your pets. You could ask friends to exercise with you by running around and playing sports.
Kids aged 5-6 will need 10-13 hours of sleep. Kids aged 7-8 will need 10-12 hours of sleep. Kids aged 9-10 will need 9-12 hours of sleep. Kids aged 10-11 will need around 9-11 hours of sleep. Tweens aged 11-12 will need 9-10 hours of sleep.
You can talk to your parents, a teacher, a trusted friend, or a counselor at your school for help. If your parents pressure you to get perfect grades, you may feel overwhelmed. Many parents do this because their own parents (your grandparents) did the same thing. They might be perfectionists and get upset when they didn’t get good grades ad a kid. You can talk with your parents that you are stressed, and you may need to cut out some activities or clubs. If they don’t listen, talk to a counselor or teacher at your school. There are many symptoms, or signs, of stress. Some kids may have physical symptoms, like frequent headaches or stomachaches. Kids might have sweaty palms or an increased heartrate when stressed. Emotional symptoms can make you less concentrated at school or constantly worried. You might be scared of little things or overreact to something you’ve experienced before. [8] X Research source
