What age is a tween?

[Sisyphus]

I've heard 9 - 12.

I've heard 10 - 14.

I've heard 9 - 13.

What gives? LOL.... is my ds1 (8) on the verge of tween-hood or what? LOLOL... he sure acts like a teenager sometimes.

I'm not too tied into the labels, just curious, really.

[ziggy]

Well, I've always thought it was 'tween as in "in between childhood and teenagehood" so, to me, that's 9/10-12.

[MusicianDad]

Not sure exactly, but I know a 13 year old can't be a tween because their a teen.

[whalemilk]

"Tween" is a word coined by marketers to better target our kids for advertising and influencing them to buy stuff and/or nag their parents to buy stuff. And to get them to "aspire" to the stuff that is marketed to teenagers, and to get young kids (preschoolers and toddlers even) to "aspire" to the stuff marketed to "tweens."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preadolescence#Tween

Developmentally speaking, 8 and 9 year olds are not "preteens" but are still just plain children. They have different issues than 4 year olds for sure, but they're not really mini teenagers.

[Arduinna]

ITA with whalemilk

[Oriole]

I'd assume 9-12.

[Shantimama]

Originally Posted by whalemilk

"Tween" is a word coined by marketers to better target our kids for advertising and influencing them to buy stuff and/or nag their parents to buy stuff. And to get them to "aspire" to the stuff that is marketed to teenagers, and to get young kids (preschoolers and toddlers even) to "aspire" to the stuff marketed to "tweens."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preadolescence#Tween

Developmentally speaking, 8 and 9 year olds are not "preteens" but are still just plain children. They have different issues than 4 year olds for sure, but they're not really mini teenagers.

[guest^]

Yes, according to my Child Psychologist friend, tween is a term used to describe the 8-12 crowd,for the convenience of marketers.Preteen,is a term used by those is child development to describe the 10-12 age.

When DD was 8 or 9, I would get furious with the whole tween thing-just let them be kids,preteens,and teens!

[reece19]

I think of it as an age combined with a certain persona/attitude. I started thinking of my kids as tweens when they really started buying into the tween marketing. At 8, they were kids...but 9, older dd at least, was a tween.

[mommy68]

I think it's 10-12. It's the time right before they are a teen at 13. My kids still acted very childish at the ages of 8 and 9 so I didn't consider that a tween age.