He turned in a teenager (almost) overnight

Kabouter has in the past years often commented on teenagers and been wondering what adolescence would be like and what he'd be like then.  I commented to him that it goes gradually, that he'd not wake up one day and realise that this whole universe feels different now and that he turned a teenager overnight.  One day he'd simply look back and realise how different he is from childhood like he now is no more toddler at all but never knows when he turned from a toddler in a school child

And yet somewhere in the first half of May I have the feeling he (and his class mates) made a jump ahead.

While he already could use an old phone now and then , mostly at home but during scouts he could take it as they sometimes had city games...so he was in a whats'app group in scouts and then also had some contacts from his ski camp in it.  However the mobile data connection broke down this winter so without wifi it was rather useless.  But most of his class mates seem to have received a phone in spring (communions, lentefeesten or simply as preparation for high school) and since early May there is an explosion of what's app groups from the class where they discuss among themselves.   Also Kabouter received a "new" (actually a refurbished) phone for his communion and with those active Whatsapp groups, it seems glued in his hands now...All of a sudden I spot him all the time with his face glued to the little screen.  All the other apps and his ipad count for screentime so before, he was spending quite an amount of time digitally but all of a sudden it seems constant.  We'll have to find a way to learn how to use this and balance time in reasonable ways. 

With the whatsapp from the class, all of a sudden they also arranged among themselves to hang out or meet somewhere.  Some weekends we learned that part of classmates were meeting up in this or this park for a game of football or for ... No parent arrangements as before, but the children informed us about the appointment.  After some conversations, we allowed him to join at the end of the school year where in the last week they hang out on Wednesday afternoon after their last "exam" and also had a picnic lunch in the park when school was out on June 30th and they officially left elementary school.  
He took it very responsibly, discussing where he'd be, how we could track him, what they'd do with whom,  phoned for every change of plans etc.  So it's all good, but it was very strange to see him leave on his own into the city centre with his phone to meet his friends.   Wow, that came a few years earlier than I anticipated. 

And then this winter and spring also came conversations that circle more about friendship, being accepted by others or fitting in, rechewing discussions at school etc... and there were some moodswings that were new.  And I thought "yep, those are exactly the things you are uncertain about and think about when you are a teenager".