ABSTRACT
The age of 12 is marked by significant development and change in myriad aspects of life. On the cusp of adolescence, a typical 12-year-old will experience major cognitive, interpersonal, emotional, and physical changes, and will begin to undertake the work of the teen years: cultivating peer relationships, testing boundaries, exploring things that are unknown and exciting, and striving for independence (Siegel, 2013). Cognitively, 12-year-olds begin to emerge from the simplicity and refuge of childhood into the world of complex, sometimes troubling, ideas. Emotionally, 12-year-olds experience feelings more intensely owing to changes in the brain. Interpersonally, they expand their social contexts to include family and, now, connections with peers. Physically, they often grow taller, enter puberty, and feel a pull to find sexual connection (Badenoch, 2008). Whereas many 12-year-olds encounter significant change across these and other aspects of life, the exact nature, timing, and degree of change in each child is unique.
