What is a pretween?

Answer 1

A pre-tween is a child between the ages of 6-10, who fall outside of the "toddler" or pre-school set, but are not in that "tween" (early teen) age range of 10-12. "Pre-tweens" share many similar interests as tweens, including boyfriend/girlfriend relationships, movies, and especially music (e.g. Hannah Montana, Hilary Duff, Jonas Bros). Girls in this group will begin showing an interest in their hair, clothing, and possibly makeup. Boys will begin to focus more on sports, scouts, and other focused interests and less on casual play.

Though some argue that a kid in this age group should not be labled and should be allowed to "just be a kid", the labling is actually somewhat necessary to help determine what is appropriate for the age group. For example, not EVERY Hannah Montana (or Miley Cyrus) song is appropriate for a child this age. Movies such as High School Musical may be OK, but others such as Camp Rock may display more mature subject matter and adult relationships. Marketers are beginning to recognize this age-group, and parents should be especially diligent about the content and adult-oriented material to which children of this group are continually exposed.