The Tween Regressor

This week I'm writing about age regression, specifically Tween age regression where once I was asked to write something for both boy and girl regressors but for a variety of reasons the project never went forward. 
Here it is as originally written.

Introduction
In the history of regression, we tended to hear more of the ‘Adult Baby’ or the ‘Little’  that went to around seven or eight years of age but their are an increasing number of Tweens (nine through thirteen) in the Agere Regressed world who are very much looking for a Caregiver type figure in their lives. Neither ‘littles’ although sometime we may do more ‘little’ things nor with the sophesticated personal lives of the Teen, we inhabit would that some might say is the ideal mixture of increasing understanding of the world but the ability to just enjoy fun for its own sake free from more grown up concerns using our greater freedom for adventures. We enjoy dramatized productions that are about our world on tv or at the theatre, or watching a movie but we love warm close relationships and the opportunity to share our concerns and worries to that caregiver. The greatest gift you can offer a tween regressor is unconditional  love.

Structure
Being a Tween is a world between that of of the Little Girl or Boy and that of sophesticated teens,a place  where we learn more of the world around us such as how we relate to each other, our responsibilities to ourselves and others in addition to our rights about our country and the world. We increasingly use our aquired skills and knowledge but we still have vulnerabilities and so need child-like protection.
Because of their disabilities, some Tween regressors may need help with remembering  things such as appointments, lectures, ‘chores’ and so on that a good caregiver will help  them with by using diaries, post-it’s or electronic notes and calendars.
For us then a caregiver is someone who doesn’t just love and cherish us, he or she uses their influence responsilbly to guide us which may involve setting rules, protocols and consequences. Some of us may have issues around boundaries that require very real handling (it’s not a game) or self esteem.
They not only work on our self confidence, but also in developing self respect, respect for others, authority and trustworthiness.
Because each Tween regressor is different it is very important they communicate what they feel able to consent to with their caregiver and that he or she respects them within that relationship. 

Attire
The individual tween will most likely have a keen sense of what they like wearing and what they don’t although for play and some outdoor activities practicalies come into play and so plain dresses or shorts may be more suited especially indoors and in the winter months outdoors layers may be needed. Dressing up for parties is something many of us enjoy.
One function for age regressors of clothing is to cast off their regular ‘adult’ look so they more resemble on the outside the Tween they feel so would wear disney, hello kitty or dinosaur T shirts and dress in a similar way. This helps the Caregiver too as they see their ‘tween’ as they feel aiding a naturally more child-like relating style. Some disabled Tweens may need help with dressing when it comes to fastening, buttons lifting over arms while others may be able to do it but do need reminding to.


Arts and Crafts
For the Tween Regressor,  there is a great delight in making things for yourself and in learning new skills that aids in building self esteem and confidence which for disabled tweens inparticular may be something they struggle with.
Many suppliers now offer kits either to make one specific item or materials such as felt, buttons, card structures such as picture frames while on the arts side, painting by numbers, freehand painting with child-safe paints on card or paper or scrape boarding are possible as is drawing. Just don’t forget to cover surfaces, supply aprons and have wipes ready afterward. 
Colouring is very much on the up as an activity even by adults who wouldn’t see it as regression and this has lead to a good number more advanced colouring books requiring finer hand-eye co-ordination to that of traditional colouring books aimed for younger children such as animals or disney princess so an older tween need not feel they’re doing something ‘babyish’.
Colouring is very relaxing and for disabled regressors can help develop and maintain fine motor skills that those of us with them need.

Play

Play is a magical time that’s not just about the actual activity we undertake but plays an important part in our socializing that as Tween Regressors we may struggle with which is why good play is so good for us disabled or not.

We learn things such as taking turns, resolving conflicting needs, the importance of keeping our spaces clear afterward and how to be a good friend, so it’s a good idea to play with others or if that isn’t possible for the caregiver to be in on it, perhaps taking a advisory role so the Tween Regressor is the on mainly playing but they’re interacting with him or her.

The nature of play is quite wide so where possible outdoor season play may be preferred such as building snowmen or snowball fights during the winter or ballgames and skipping in the spring and summer which nor only mixes fresh air with physical exercise but brings in work on building up attention spans and co-ordination. There are an increasing number of public ‘adult’ playgrounds that with discretion may be used for Tween Age regression.

There are times where indoor play may be more suited so things such as the building the ever popular Lego Kits either individually in a group setting before engaging in imaginative play with the now assembled kits can be hugly enjoyable.

Imaginative play with plushies or dolls still plays a part in the life of the teen regressor and as in the case of American Girl dolls can tie into looking into the past.

Despite the popularity of electronic gaming such as that on Games Consoles and “SmartPhones” or smaller computers, traditional board games such as Mousetrap, Snakes and Ladders  in addition to Monopoly still play an important part being really enjoyable to play together plus games such as  Trivial Persuit can help with learning facts and taking turns too.

If you have a group of Tween Regressors, setting up a table for ‘junior’ jigsaws with people in teams can be a good ice breaker not just being fun to complete but also getting people to work together and establishing a more co-operative feel.

Learning

Things a caregiver can help with is setting a nice distraction free environment for studying which may be routed in work set at college as part of regular studying where the Caregiver supports  through set work which ordinarily they may struggle to make good progress on.

For some it may be that a Caregiver may set some work similar to to that they did in school using study guides and workbooks in say everyday Math and English if they have a history of struggling with it to improve knowledge so boosting confidence. Also for some just having to spend a period focusing on one subject can help with building improved attentiveness finding structured activity of benefit.