Let's Talk Tween

Information and insight about kids ages 8-12 (the "in between" years)

Jennifer Powell-Lunder Psy.D.

Homebound: Managing the Monotony and Mayhem

The dog is barking, the dishwasher’s leaking, and your home-schooling attempt feels like an epic fail. The novelty of being at home all together wore off about a week ago.

Social Distancing: Making the Most of Life at Home

Your responsibility as a role model and guide cannot be underscored enough. If you present in a frenzied panic, your kids are sure to follow.

Is My Tween a "Mean Girl?"

Teenage girls can move through stages of relational aggression. Here are strategies for guiding them when you notice mean behavior.

Keeping Up with Your Social Media-Savvy Tween

At the tender age of 12, she already knows her way around the digital world.

Your Lying Tween

The number of lies and tall tales a tween tells can seem excessive, and the reasons why they lie are varied.

The Unintentional Cyberbully

The unintentional cyberbully does not have the same perspective as their unintended victim.

My Tween's a Holiday Horror!

Do you cringe and hold your breath when it’s time to open the presents because you can’t anticipate your tween’s reaction?

Yes, You Are That Embarrassing!

As parents, we like to revel in the idea that our children are a reflection of us. In reality, however, this is not how tweens see things.

College Bound: The Tween They Left Behind

With so much going on, parents may overlook what their tween is experiencing when an older child leaves home. But it's hard to watch their role model leave.

The Fortnite Phenomenon

I recently posted a comment on social media about Fortnite, and the response I got was overwhelming. Friends and family from all over weighed in.

Making #MeToo Matter

#MeToo provides a magical teaching moment. It is an opportunity to model empowerment and change.

Empowering Your Anxious Tween

Anxiety is a beast that can be contained, if not completely slain.

Buyer Beware: Two New Apps Your Tweens Should Avoid

Two apps that have developed popularity among teens and tweens are raising red flags with law enforcement and others.

My Mean Tween Made Me Cry

Seeking to affirm their individual opinions and identities kids start to argue back. These new responses may at first seem sweet, but sassy lacks luster when you're the target.

Caution: Your Tween May be Stressing Over Snap Streaks

Stopping your tween from continuing a Snapchat streak can easily make him feel like you are forcing him to commit social suicide. He will bargain and beg to keep his streaks going.

When His Homework is Your Personal Purgatory

You are in homework hell and the assignments aren’t even your responsibility! As a parent, you feel as if it all falls on you.

Election Aftermath: A Teaching Moment for Our Children

The future is truly in the hands of our children; our response to them should be one of hope and encouragement. We must empower them to have a voice.

My Easygoing Kid Is Stressing Me Out!

If you are a Type A parent, raising a Type B tween can be rigorous. A part of you probably admires your low-key kid, even though his laid back attitude can at times make you crazy.

When Sibling Rivalry Goes Awry

You may remember the days in the not so distant past when you were the envy of friends and family. “Your kids get along so well,” they would gush.

Clark Kent Syndrome: When Boys Are Social Media Supermen

There is a disturbing trend that seems to be whispered about in the hallways of schools.

Digital Age Parenting: Conquering the Cultural Divide

Even the most tech savvy parents still find themselves at a loss, a half a step behind their digital age kids.

TBH: A Free Pass for Tween Mean?

A call for ‘TBH’ (aka To be honest) or a request for a ‘rating’ (usually from one to ten) opens kids up to receive derogatory comments and criticism.

My Child Has a Different Kind of Brain

You feel helpless and even useless. Your brain doesn't work the same way as your child’s. It's frustrating when your efforts to help are rejected because they are ineffective.

Teaching Tolerance in a Time of Terror

It may seem easy to counteract chaos and unrest resulting from terrorist attacks by pointing fingers at entire groups. We need to be clear about what such stances communicate especially to our children.

When 12 Feels Like 20

Kids today are growing up faster than ever before. Perhaps the greatest irony is that while our kids seem more mature, earlier, many of us strive to remain young. 40 is the new 30 and 50 is the new 40. At the rate our tweens are growing up and we're trying to stay young, you have to figure that we'll seem the same age as our kids in no time.

Back to school dread: Beyond first day jitters

There are some kids for whom the idea of going back to school can create sheer panic and overwhelmingly angst. These tweens typically revel in the relief associated with summer. As the first day of school gets closer they become more anxious. This often results in increased irritability, agitation and sometimes feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

Women’s World Cup Win: Contributions to Tween Self-Esteem

Each of these players tells a unique story. What bonds them all together is their love of soccer and their desire to be the best. Role models such as the USA Women’s National Soccer team are important for our tweens and teens. Their accomplishments as individuals, and of course, their victory as a team model important lessons.

Just Boy Banter or Tween Mean?

Tween boys are particularly prone to running in packs, complete with alpha and beta males. Similar to the queen bee who likes to hold court, alpha males are known to challenge and test the betas who surround them. There is of course a difference between playful teasing and bullying.

She Thinks She’s Hot: Sexual Awareness or Something Else?

It’s not just her clothes you notice. The way she carries herself has also changed. Her walk is now more of a saunter similar to your cat. The way she tosses back her head and laughs, you could swear she seems more like thirty than twelve. Just the other day she seemed to be batting her eyelashes at the college kid across the street when he dropped off a package.

Motivation: Can You Encourage Your Tween to Care?

Tweens are at the age of assertion. This becomes more obvious the older they get. They may start to make more of their own choices about friends and interests. It is the values that their parents impart to them however, that have a great hand in determining these decisions.

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