Moms are arguing that the lack of old school tween stores has led to 'Sephora kids'
"I'm very nostalgic over Delia's, Limited Too and Claire's. Those were OURS. What do the tweens have now they can own?
'Sephora kids' are the result of a lack of tween stores moms argue
Being a tween or young teen can be difficult. You're stuck between feeling more grown up than you are and being a child too young to do many things older teens are doing. It can be a confusing place to reside for a few years and if you've been on social media in the past few weeks, you've noticed an influx of women talking about "Sephora kids."
These are the young girls that have received gift cards for the beauty supply store and are being left unsupervised while some of them essentially run amuck. Several women have complained about girls as young as 10 being in the chain being disrespectful to staff and adult customers looking for expensive skincare products by Drunk Elephant.
But there are a group of moms that have a theory on why these tweens and young teens are finding themselves in adult beauty stores–tween stores are extinct.
How many of you remember waiting for the mail to run so you could get the latest Delia's or Justice catalog to circle all the things you wanted? In the 90s we had stores like 5-7-9, Limited Too and Delia's. Then Justice popped up and eventually 600 Limited Too stores decided to covert to the Justice brand which was a lower priced competitor for the retail store. Those stores were a tween girl's haven where the models in the pictures looked their age and dressed like 9-14 year olds.
The stores were brightly colored with lots of sheer, glossy and lightly colored lip glosses, eye shadows, blushes and perfumes surrounded the cash registers. There was also toys mixed in with the tween/young teen selection, giving kids a chance to fully embrace the in between of being a child and an adult. There was even the boy equivalent to Justice, named Brothers, that offered boys much of the same experience as the girls, minus the light make up options.
It seems the only store still around that could double as a tween oasis is Claire's, which is an accessory store. Samantha Sophia argues that there was once a whole tween market that's simply gone outside of stores like Rave and Baker Shoes. This spills over into nearly all areas of tween culture because that group grew up with the last generation. Hannah Montana is now just Miley Cyrus. The Jonas Brothers are no longer singing about puppy love.
@chloevanberkel is the next generation growing up too fast? #grwm #generationz
One mom explains, "We had all of the things for teens and tweens...they have nothing! I think it's both. They're going from "Baby Alive–>ULTA" there's no coming of age era."
Another commenter says, "Interesting. Childless in my 40s, I didn't see this hole in the "market," but wow, it's so clear. There is something deeper here to unravel. I'm very nostalgic over Delia's, Limited Too and Claire's. Those were OURS. What do tweens have now they can own?"
@raisingself Replying to @ash mccormack we are failing our tweens. #sephorakids #parentingtweens
It doesn't seem like there's a comfortable place for tweens to stretch their legs to get a lay of the land on their way into adulthood. So while other people may think it's a lack of supervision, parents spoiling their children or worse, parents only having children for accessories, it could simply be that tweens don't have their own space.
"Like y'all don't understand. The kids are alright. The Gen Alphas, they have boundaries. They don't want to be adults, or they are so in this twilight zone of TikTok and social media consumption that they don't even realize that they are being adultified by the way we formed our society, Samantha says closing out her video. "And I'm so sad for them because even though it doesn't feel like it, it's such a beautiful time in their lives in their age. And every day I'm fighting for my kids to feel that, and experience that and enjoy that."
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An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
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Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."