It’s part of normal development that teenagers will pull away from their parents, but that doesn’t stop the sting when it happens. Particularly when it happens when they’re tweens, and it feels like only yesterday they were leaping into your lap with glee. 

How can parents cope with this difficult phase of parenting? And why are some tweens and teens so mean?

Parenting educator Michelle Mitchell explains what's going on for our children developmentally and Dr Cher McGilliveray from Bond University offers some suggestions for how parents can manage their own feelings.