As middle schoolers become more social, they may be asking for more freedom—say, to meet several friends at the park or to bike across town to hang out outside the ice cream shop.
“Part of childhood is getting into trouble and figuring out how to get out of it. It’s been part of childhood throughout human history until recent times,” Gray says.
Parents who didn’t grant their middle schoolers many freedoms in younger years can do so now—with the caution that we may need to help them ease through fears.