The pre-teen years before adolescence are often referred to as the tween years, and developmentally, there are lots of changes that occur between 8 and 12.
Both sexes will grow in height from 10 years onwards but girls enter puberty at approximately 10-11 years of age and boys slightly later, around 12.
Many children of this age are often not emotionally equipped to deal with the physical and hormonal changes in their bodies.
Many tweens will feel self-conscious about these changes, especially if they develop earlier or later than their peers.
Even if they refer to boyfriends or girlfriends at a younger age, tweens only really start to develop a true interest in the opposite sex between 10-12 years of age and usually girls will show interest earlier than boys.
Children at this age are a lot more realistic in identifying their talents and their weaknesses, and will become anxious about and try to avoid activities they believe highlight their flaws, including certain subjects at school.
Activities they will enjoy participating in will be those which provide positive opportunities for fun, socialising and learning new skills, and these will be the ones they will be more inclined to commit to.
They are able to work well in a team where there is a shared goal and some tweens may even demonstrate some leadership skills in these situations.
Facts verified by Clare Rowe, Educational & Developmental Psychologist at Sydney South Child Psychology.