12 yo son just said, "Is it me, or do the shows on MSNBC all seem to lean toward

[lunatica]

21. 12 year old are the most confounding kids on the planet

I'm convinced this is when they cross the threshold from child minds to pre-adult minds. It's the age where they stop being your sweet little kid and they start being the much more sophisticated and nuanced and complex teen thinking before maturing into the adult brain. And every once in a while they'll say things that astound and confound you. And sometimes they're still you little kid. I think it's especially noticeable in boys because their voices start to change and they start to get fuzz over their upper lip.