Expert Support for Parenting Middle Schoolers
Middle school can feel overwhelming for both kids and parents, even when you’re trying to do all the right things. Making the Middle™ offers expert guidance to help you navigate the middle school years with confidence and connection.
What makes the middle school years so hard?
The middle school years are a mystery to most parents, and the strategies you relied on before don't seem to apply anymore. Your kid feels more distant, emotions run higher, and conversations feel tricky. You might be wondering… Is this typical? Am I overreacting? How do I respond without making things worse? And there isn't always time to think it through. This is the stage where parents need real guidance.
Common Middle School Parenting Challenges
Your role as a parent is shifting.
Your kid wants more independence, but still needs you more than they let on. Figuring out when to step in and when to step back is one of the hardest parts of this stage.
You feel like you're losing the closeness you had.
Your kid shares less, shuts the door more, and the easy conversations you used to have feel like a thing of the past. You miss who they were, even as you're proud of who they're becoming.
Self-doubt and comparison creep in.
You worry if you’re doing something wrong or pushing your child away or if there is something you should be doing differently to keep them closer.
If you’re parenting a tween or teen, you’re not imagining it.
These years are complex, and you don’t have to figure them out alone.
You’re in the right place.
Hi, I'm Kara Friedman. I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor with 25+ years of experience working with middle schoolers and their parents, first as a school counselor and now in private practice.
My work has reached beyond my private practice. I've guest taught at Washington University, contributed to The Drama Years (Simon & Schuster), and served as a consulting editor on The BFRB Workbook for Teens and Young Adults (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2025). I served on the advisory board of Girl Talk, where I helped lead curriculum development, and on the board of Girls in the Know. I've presented at the American School Counselor Association conference, the International OCD Foundation conference, and parent communities throughout St. Louis.
I created Making the Middle™ to give you the toolbox I wish every parent had during these years. You'll find practical tools, simple approaches, and a healthy dose of real talk to help you raise a capable, confident tween or teen.
I understand both sides of these years: what your kid is experiencing internally, and what you're carrying at home. Here, you'll find real tools, real talk, and guidance you can trust.
Learn more about Kara—and read a personal note from her—here!
Now, let me tell you about my signature online program, the Making the Middle™ Masterclass.
Practical Skills for the Middle School Years
Instead of reacting in the moment or second-guessing every decision, Making the Middle™ helps you build parenting skills you can rely on every day.
Through Kara's signature Making the Middle™ Masterclass, webinars and free resources like her Glovebox Scripts, you’ll be able to:
Understand what’s typical and what might need closer attention
Respond to challenging moments with confidence instead of frustration
Strengthen everyday communication (even if your t(w)een is shutting you out)
Know when to guide, when to step back, and how to tell the difference when things are changing daily
Online Middle School Parenting Courses Designed for Real Life
Making the Middle™ offers expert-led online parenting courses and webinars created specifically for the middle school years. These programs are designed to fit into a busy family life. They’re clear, practical, broken up into easy to finish segments and grounded in both research and experience.
Programs are hosted online and are:
- Self-paced, so you can move through at your own speed and revisit the lessons when you need them
- Packed with expert tools you can start using TODAY
- Designed to help both you and your t(w)een
- Built around frameworks you can use for years, not one-off tips that won't stick
Free Download
Start with a simple chat in the car.
Car rides can be a great opportunity for kids to open up, but many parents get stuck with one-word answers. You know: "How was school?" "Fine."
Kara's Glovebox Scripts give you simple, supportive language for prompting conversation about 10 of the most common situations that come up with middle schoolers in the car. You’ll know exactly what to say in the moment and can keep these scripts right in your glovebox for when you need them most.
You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone.
When parents feel informed and supported, kids benefit too.
Middle school doesn't come with a manual, and most parents end up piecing it together one stressful conversation at a time. There are sleepless nights spent wondering if you handled it right, arguments that didn't need to happen, and months of trying things that don't work before you find something that does.
Making the Middle™ gives you the foundation so you can stop guessing. Parents who do this work before the hard moments arrive spend less time worrying, less time arguing, and more time enjoying who their kids are becoming.