Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/695013
51 BAY AREA NEWS GROUP KIDS T oooldforPlay-Doh and finger paint but too young for angst or rebellion. Still little enough to scoop up in your arms but far too big to put up with the indignity. Welcome to the realm of tweendom, those in-between years when kids — and their parents — often feel unsure of how to proceed. Movies and television (re - member "Lizzie McGuire"?) usually portray this tender time as awkward, full of braces, cringing and middle school drama. While some young people may bask in the glow of finally hitting double digits, others find the tween years — often described as ages 10 to 12 — as long indeed. Either way, many who are actually part of that demographic don't exactly embrace the term "tween." Sophia Schilb, for one, doesn't like to be defined by labels. The San Jose 12-year-old thinks the whole concept is just a silly stereotype made up by the media. "I don't think I'm a tween. I think I'm me," Schilb says. "I'm a kid." Others believe the tween years are perceived to be awkward largely because of society's expec - tations. Sophia Klein, for example, says that she and her BFFs often put on airs and act older than they are to make other people feel more comfortable. "My friends and I act like we're older to avoid it being awkward," says the bubbly Oakland 10-year- old with her own YouTube channel, dubbed SophiaSwag 101, SophiaKlein,10,pictured here and on the opening page, works on a Mother's Day card in her room as the neighbor's dog, Rudy, sits on her lap at home in Oakland.