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Tween

A child in the years just before becoming a teenager, roughly the late elementary and middle school years. Another word for preteen.

What It Means

A tween is a child in the stretch between middle childhood and the teen years, and dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster and Britannica Dictionary treat it as a close match for preteen. It's an everyday word, so no health body gives it an official age range. CDC's parenting tips cover the same years in two stages, middle childhood from 9 to 11 and young teens from 12 to 14, and many children start pubertyPubertyThe years when a child's body matures into an adult's, usually starting between about 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys, per Cleveland Clinic. See more somewhere in that window.

Try It: Find Your Tween's CDC Parenting Stage

Pick your child's age to see which of CDC's parenting stages it falls in, and a few of CDC's tips for that stage.

Years until 133
CDC stage

Middle childhood, 9 to 11

  • Talk about school, friends and what they look forward to.
  • Talk about respecting others and helping people in need.
  • Back them as they try new challenges and solve problems on their own.

Many apps set 13 as their own minimum age, which is why the count above stops there.

How Parents Say It

  • "She's ten going on sixteen."
  • "He's at that tween stage where I'm suddenly embarrassing."
  • "The tween section doesn't have anything she likes anymore."

The Breakdown

The tween years in CDC's stages

AgeCDC stageWhat CDC suggests
9 to 11Middle childhoodTalk about school, friends and things they look forward to; do fun things as a family; get to know the teachers; let them take on new challenges
12 to 14Young teensExpect many physical, mental, emotional and social changes; give room for their own choices while making sure they know you're there; show affection and use words of encouragement

What changes in these years. CDC's tips for these ages center on friends, school and growing independence, and for many children puberty begins too. Puberty usually starts between about 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys, according to Cleveland Clinic, so two children the same age can look and act very differently.

A way to keep talking. Pick a regular time that's already yours, like the drive to practice, and ask one open question about their day or a friend.

When to talk to the pediatrician. Bring up body changes that seem very early or very late for their age, and any change in mood, sleep, eating or friendships that worries you. Cleveland Clinic advises a checkup if a girl shows few or no signs of puberty by 13, or a boy by 14.

Good to Know

CDC's Positive Parenting TipsPositive parentingRaising children through warmth, attention, praise for good behavior and teaching, with discipline that avoids harsh punishment. The CDC publishes age-by-age tips. See more pages are free and organized by age, so you can read the one for your child's stage and the one after it. The tween years are also when many children ask for a first phone or a social media account, and Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat each set 13 as their own minimum age.

FAQ

What age is a tween?

There's no official range. Dictionaries describe a tween as a child just before the teen years, and CDC's parenting tips cover those years as middle childhood (9 to 11) and young teens (12 to 14).

Is a tween the same as a preteen?

In everyday use, yes. Merriam-Webster and Britannica Dictionary both treat the two words as describing a child who hasn't yet reached 13.

Do tweens go through puberty?

Many do. Cleveland Clinic says puberty usually starts between about 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys, which overlaps most of the tween years.

Do It in Buhata

Household Space and Calendar

Put a weekly one-on-one time with your tween on the Calendar in your Household Space in Buhata, so the chat you mean to have actually happens.

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Related Terms and Categories

  • Puberty

    The years when a child's body matures into an adult's, usually starting between about 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys, per Cleveland Clinic.

  • Teen brain

    The way the brain keeps developing through adolescence; NIMH says it finishes maturing in the mid-to-late 20s, with the prefrontal cortex among the last parts.

  • Self-esteem

    How a person feels about themselves and what they can do. In a child, healthy self-esteem shows as feeling liked, accepted and able to try again after a mistake.

Parenting and child development

Sources

Merriam-Webster, "Tween"; Britannica Dictionary, "Tween"; Merriam-Webster, "Preteen"; CDC, "Positive Parenting Tips: Middle Childhood (9-11 years of age)"; CDC, "Positive Parenting Tips for Healthy Child Development: Young Teens (12-14 Years of Age)"; CDC, "Positive Parenting Tips"; Cleveland Clinic, "Puberty: Tanner Stages for Boys and Girls"

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