I have a younger sister who would be categorized as a “tween”, and I watch everything that she goes through. It reminds me of the stuff that I went through when I was her age. All of the raging hormones they face, and trying to act older than they actually are. Since she has two older siblings she doesn’t realize that she isn’t old enough to do all that stuff that my brother and I do. She wants to be old, but she won’t accept the responsibilities that come along with it. Tweens are at the age when they have to learn how to let go of being a kid and become a teen. Some tweens aren’t always ready for this either. Which is fine because everybody matures at a different age. For example, my sister is not even 12, but is entering the 7^th grade this year. She is extremely young for her grade, and not as mature as the 13-year-old kids that are in her grade. They are leaving one age bracket, and entering into a new one. Parents need to understand that they are going to be changing and wanting to do different things now that they are becoming teens. As long as they are safe let them enjoy themselves. From a tweens perspective teenagers are so cool, and they want to be one.

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American RadioWorks needs your help with a public radio documentary about kids creating and using online identities.

Part of growing up is discovering oneself and learning how to relate to others, right? But in the age of Web sites such as Stardoll, Gaia Online and Doppelganger Inc., children (“tweens” and younger) are creating virtual alter egos and making friends online.

A 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project survey found that over half of American teens (12-17) who are online use sites like Facebook, MySpace and Second Life.

Does your child use social networking sites? Has s/he created an online avatar or virtual persona? If so, how is this avatar similar or different from your real life child?

Share your insights: Respond here.

American RadioWorks wants to hear your insights about what this all may mean. Are these Web sites simply a new a vehicle for a child’s imagination? Do they help children socialize in a meaningful way? Help us with our documentary by clicking here.

We appreciate your help. Feel free to discuss/debate this issue here at Connect with Kids. Express some interest and we’ll keep you updated about the program.

Many thanks,

Lea Coon, Public Insight Journalism, American Public Media

lcoon@americanpublicmedia.org

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If you're like me, you've planned yearly parties for your kids since that first big "1."  Early on, every child in the class was invited... then you tried to limit it to 20, 15, 10...  we usually had them in the back yard, cake and ice cream, sometimes scavenger hunts or slime parties or pirate parties (I confess my son's dad and I had just as much fun as the kids). But now my son wants to take a group of kids to the movies or to White Water or something, and I'm wondering what is a reasonable number of children? I'm thinking in terms of costs as well as being able to keep an eye on everyone. And of course, the big sleepover afterwards -- I don't mind a houseful of kids but I know too many boys could potentially be a problem. And is 6th grade too young to invite both boys and girls? What's the consensus out there? Hey, maybe I've got this all wrong and I should throw a big party for my friends, too!

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Summertime is such a welcome relief from the hectic pace of the school year.  However, my tween as ADD, and really needs structure in her life.  If not, she watches TV all day and goes into what I call the "zone" .  Once, she zones out it is very hard to get her back into a schedule.    She has summer reading to do, but keeps putting it off and I am getting worried that she is not going to get her books read.  We came up with a contract, that stated that she would read 20 pages every other day if I agreed not to nag her about reading.   However, due to trips out of town, family and friends coming for visits, she is not keeping up with her reading.  How do I get her to read without being what she calls a "nag"?  Help.

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