Tween Development

There is substantial overlap between the Search Institute’s and the AACAP’S lists. Developmentally tweens are closer to teens than to children. However, by definition tweens are in between both groups. Though the word tween is of recent vintage, the experience of this in-between group goes back at least a hundred years. The expression of these physical, cognitive and emotional changes have remained constant through time and place. Tweens of the past longed for more independence, just like tweens of today. They also experienced profound cognitive changes, and struggled to understand physical changes taking place in their bodies. The onset of secondary sex characteristics is the only difference between tweens of the past and those of the present. Tween girls are maturing earlier than ever before.

In her novels, Judy Blume eloquently describes developmental anxieties common to tween girls. Her literary creations wrestle with coming to terms with getting their periods and developing breasts. They worry over what is cool and what is not, and how best to deal with the opposite sex. I vividly remember dealing about these issues as a tween. However, I don’t remember looking forward to these changes as Margaret Simon does in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Kit Pearson’s Elizabeth Chambers’ ambivalence about developing is reflective of my own experiences at that age. I would argue that the perception of these changes can be viewed along a continuum. At one end, children avidly anticipate maturing, while those at the other end detest change. I was a part of the latter group. Change was anathema to me. I wanted everything to continue on as it used to be, and I held onto my childhood for as long as possible. Most children fall somewhere in the middle, both ambivalent and excited about the profound changes that are happening to their bodies, minds and emotions.