Developmental Information

Older children in this age range, from around 10-12 years, are referred to as “tweens.” Their needs are discussed more specifically in the Youth Services: Tweens and Teens Course. As with younger children, development happens at varied rates, so some school-age children might exhibit teen/tween characteristics and behavior earlier than expected.

The tween years are marked by significant development in a child’s physical growth, in their awareness of what other people think, and in a variety of social changes. Friends and their influence become more important as tweens become more independent from their families and start to explore boundaries. However, parental support and guidance is still important to them. With the changes they see in their bodies, tweens become self-conscious about their appearance and the social hierarchy, and they are trying on different self-identities while they explore who and how they want to be. Emotionally, they become more sensitive to their own and other people’s emotions and they can experience intense emotional swings as well. Tweens tend to have concrete, black-and-white thinking and their thinking centers more and more on themselves, which is normal for this age.