The 12 Best Gifts for Tweens

Between the ages of 9 and 12, children start to outgrow their little-kid personas and move on to more grown-up interests. These so-called tweens are developing first crushes, taking more interest in their appearance, following social media personalities, and growing increasingly independent. But they still harbor a fondness for fun, silly, even “babyish” things, too. “[Tweens] present like they’re mature, but they still like kid stuff,” said Catherine Pearlman, a parenting adviser, an associate professor of social work at Brandman University, and a mother of two teenagers. “They’re a mix of wanting to be grown up and thinking they can handle everything, but also still learning.”