Kayla 14-15

Kayla has been involved in different athletic activities over the years and so this year in high school she decided to try out for the softball team. She was a little disappointed that she didn’t make it, but her Aunt just moved into town and they love to play tennis together and she seems to be enjoying that. She is so busy traveling with the school choir we weren’t sure how she was going to be so involved, keep her grades up, and still have time for a little fun. Recently Kayla was invited to go camping with a close friend and her parents. She really had a great time and learned to use a compass to navigate in the woods.

Kayla occasionally gets upset and becomes cranky or gives us the silent treatment when we have discussions about issues such as bedtime, chores, curfew, clothing choices, music choices, etc., but otherwise we get along pretty well. We know we aren't going to get anywhere by continuing the discussion, so you drop it and let her calm down for a while before speaking to her again

Kayla had been working hard in 9th grade and had some good grades to show at the time of the first progress report. We are really proud of her and decided to go to dinner at her favorite restaurant to celebrate. She got her report card at the end of the semester and received good citizenship scores from all her teachers and A’s and B’s. Because of her high grades in math and science she is eligible for Honors Geometry and Chemistry for the 10th grade.

We have definitely hit the early adolescence stages. The other day Kayla came home upset about being teased and called flat-chested. Although she has a pretty healthy body-image, the next day she was asking me to buy her a push-up bra. She is also becoming interested in boys and she is noticing they are becoming interested in her. She also seems to be developing her own sense of morals. During a trip to a competition, students from one of the vocal groups at Kayla's school stole some trinkets from a store and they were caught. They were suspended from the vocal group. Kayla agrees with the punishment because they did not live up to the expectations of their parents, their coach or their teammates. This falls under Kohlberg’s moral stages, specifically stage 4, the social-order-maintaining orientation.