The prepubescent children of days gone by have given way to a cooler kid—the tween—who aspires to teenhood but is not quite there yet. Tweens are in-between—generally the 8-to-12 set.
  Retailers know tweens are a hot market for clothes, music and entertainment. But now psychologists and behavioral researchers are beginning to study tweens too. They say tweens are a complicated lot, still forming their personalities, and are torn between family and friends, between fitting in and learning how to be an individual.
  Tweens have “their own sense of fashion in a way we didn’t have before and their own parts of the popular culture targeted toward them,” says child and adolescent psychologist Dave Verhaagen. How will this shape their personalities? “Time will tell, we don’t know.”
  Research has shown that middle school is where some troubles, particularly academic, first appear. Also, a 2007 review of surveys in the journal Prevention Science found that the percentage of children who use alcohol doubles between grades four and six, with the largest jump between fifth and sixth grades...

Discussion Questions:
17. Why do retailers consider tweens a “hot market”?
In your opinion, what might be some harmful ramifications of retailers targeting their marketing to tweens?

18. What generational groups compose your contemporary society? How do they correspond with Howe’s?
What characterizes the generational group you are in?