Boys & Girls, Toddlers & Teens


Some of the most interesting findings of the study came from our understanding of different genders, at different ages. Of course, we need to be careful about rigidly defining gender and age traits – all kids are different – but there are some interesting trends.


Here are some categories:


SENSE AND SENSIBILITY Ages 1 – 4


First, you appeal to a toddler’s sense. Maybe you use texture, the slick-rough feel of a turtle shell, the splash of water. Or games that involve matching shapes or colors. Ten you work on his or her motor skills, but so cleverly, it looks like play. Small children learn through play.


Creative play helps a child deepen her imagination, become resourceful, and understand emotions – her own, and those of others. Play also helps kids develop language and social skills. Ten, as language develops, you can reach kids through storytelling, fantasy, and wonder. At this age, an experience doesn’t have to be authentic. It has to be captivating.


IDENTITY QUEST Ages 8 – 11


Tese are the years when gender starts to draw a few lines of its own – blurry lines, but noticeable ones. Kids are learning to think a little more abstractly; they’re not so dependent on concrete, sensory learning. It’s important for them to have chances to ask questions, think things through for themselves, and explain them to a grown-up. But they still crave interactive experiences: the kind that let them imagine themselves in another world, piloting a plane or fighting a 19th century battle.


For parents of boys, this is when variety starts to really matter. Boys’ desire for hands-on interactivity peaks in these years, then will decline as they move toward the physical excitement of thrill rides.


THE DIY YEARS Ages 4 – 7


Tese are the years when interactive experiences matter the most, especially for girls. Kids are full of energy, and need things they can see and touch. Tey’re moving outward from the world of fantasy, learning that it’s just as much fun to explore the real world. Tey still tend to personify objects, and they’re very present-tense, but they’re beginning to learn how to think about other times and places and points of view.


Beginning around age 5, our study showed that variety becomes very important to parents of both boys and girls. Te need for interactivity peaks for girls in these years, then starts to decline; it will remain important for boys until they reach 12.


THE THRILL YEARS Ages 12 – 17


As teenagers get older, they crave the challenge, risk, intensity, and excitement of extreme rides. Tose aren’t the experiences they can get staying home to play video games; even the best games can’t replicate the adrenaline.


Teens seek thrills, but also authenticity. Parents of boys over 12 and girls over 15 look actively for authentic experiences they can share with their child before the days of family vacations come to an end. Abstract ideas have begun to matter, and can be adroitly manipulated, dissected, and compared. Historic sites are becoming more interesting, because a teenager’s sense of time is sophisticated, and she can consider events from different points of view and put them in context. She also has enough knowledge of the world to make connection with what’s she learning.


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