Growing up Tween

Tweens are at an awkward age, with knobby knees, big ears, and faces just starting to grow into their teeth. As they head out of childhood and into their teens, these 8- to 12-year-olds are about to grow out of traditional toy stores. But don't give up on them yet!

Tweens of today are very teen-focused and increasingly interested in dressing like and talking like their older brothers and sisters—but they're still kids at heart, especially those 8- to 10-year-olds known as “emerging tweens” to WonderGroup, a Cincinnati-based marketing firm that reports on child and family trends. WonderGroup classifies slightly older kids, those ages 11 and 12, as “transitioning tweens,” kids at the top end of the toy retailing market—and about to age completely out of it.

The tween years, say toy manufacturers, are when boys become boys and girls become girls, at least where toy interests are concerned.

Tops for tween girls are arts and crafts products, like the latest craft kits from Creativity for Kids (Faber-Castell), Cleveland, and books from Klutz, Palo Alto, Calif. Skill-oriented, these consumers like to explore their small motor abilities. Sanrio's Hello Kitty is also popular with tween girls who like a mix of practical and cute. Those products point to a trend of toys for tweens that at least appear to be useful, like the Noodlehead Pawparazzi stuffed pet carrying cases and jewelry.

At the Frankenmuth Toy Company in Frankenmuth, Mich., Dover how-to-draw books are “very popular with girls that age,” says owner Judy Bergelin.

For tween boys, old-fashioned magic kits and pranks still grab their attention as they get older. Boys look for toys that demand spatial reasoning, like building sets from K'nex, and Rokenbok. They also look for electronic products that let them be in control, such as R/C cars, robots and the like.

Marla Miller, buyer for Alphabet Soup in Ithaca, N.Y., says she thinks tweens are also at the age to become really immersed in imaginative play. “The things that I've seen flying out the door for boys are the Papo knight figures,” she says, “and also Folkmanis puppets and costumes, but for girls, too.”

From crafts to figures, tween girls and boys do have interests in common on the toy front. First and foremost among both groups is a preference for toys and kits that combine product with process, with actual results that kids find worthwhile.

“The key is [tween girls] want to make something that they actually want to wear,” says Lisa Orman, whose Kidstuff Public Relations, Black Earth, Wisc., represents tween toy manufacturers like Noodleheads and Fashion Angel Enterprises.

The same goes for boys who like the K'nex Ferris Wheels because they really spin, and Wild Planet Spy Gear because it actually lets brothers eavesdrop on their sisters.

This interest in “things that really work” has been the motivation behind K'nex's designs, says Diane Adams, vice president of sales and marketing at the Hatfield, Pa.-based manufacturer. This motivation has been especially evident in the newest additions to the construction toy's line, which offer gears, lights, micro-parts and hinged connectors.

“Where we find the most success is in those retailers who put working models and displays in their stores,” Adams says. “Everything we build is so much larger than what's in the box. And everything in our kits moves; you can't demonstrate that on the packaging. You have to see it in action.”

While boys make up the largest part of the K'nex audience (as they do for other building toys), children of both genders are being exposed to the matrix-based building toys through schools where K'nex sponsors assemblies—a move that guarantees girls are introduced to the brand, too.

Another commonality among tweens of both genders? Silliness. “The other thing that we sell quite a few of, which is very strange, are the Play Vision (Super Mondo Inside-Out) balls that you put on your head,” says Bergelin. “People love them!”

Tweens also want to show off and improve their athletic skills; it is the age of the endless game of paddle-ball. Measurable results, record-keeping and new tricks all motivate tweens. Outdoor and large-muscle toys are big for this age bracket, whether kids want to set personal records with a classic jump rope or learn to get across the living room in five seconds flat on their Fun Slides, the “carpet skates” from the Irwin, Pa.-based Simtec.

“Children want a goal,” Bergelin says, adding that just about any outdoor toy is popular with her tween clients. “And rocket balloons!”

Linda Angel, owner of Kidoodles Toys in Norman, Okla., agrees. “Our Monkey Business Sports line is a sell-out year round, and I can't remember how many times I had to reorder Sub Skates [an underwater skateboard] last summer.” She also notes that display models are key, letting kids try out new things in the store, and making it easier for them to choose.

Along with tweens' typical interest in improving their motor skills comes an equal drive to test their smarts. Whether they're playing against a game itself (as in strategy games, such as Think Fun's Rush Hour) or trying to beat their friends, board and card games and puzzles are all big for this age group.

Many retailers still find it hard to compete with the lure of commercialized toys in this media-saturated age group, especially when it comes to tween boys, who seemingly look beyond the walls of the specialty toy store at an earlier age than girls. Part of this, retailers say, has to do with an increase in video screen time or a rising interest in the types of toys specialty stores don't carry.

Specialty toy retailers say that the tweens who continue to walk through their doors have either grown up visiting their stores or are tagging along with a younger sibling. The trick to getting them to buy, they say, is catching their interest while they're there, as opportunities to do so are growing rarer.

“You can't be everything for every child, so you kind of pick an age for which there's a large demand or where you have a niche,” Kidoodles' Angel says. She intends to keep looking for ways to serve tween customers. “I have an 8-year-old son,” she says. “And I don't want him ever to grow out of Kidoodles.”