KidSay Trend Tracker

Q1 2026

- Ages 8-15

WHY THIS REPORT MATTERS

Two media worlds are forming across the tween to teenage years.

YouTube plays a very different role for tweens than it does for teens, and the divides keep widening.

Across many digital behaviors, the gap between tween (8–11) and teen (12–15) cohorts matters more than the gap between boys and girls. Platform behavior is fragmenting fast, AI is no longer emerging, and economic independence is arriving earlier than most brand strategies account for. The Q1 2026 Trend Tracker gives brand, insights, and strategy teams the age and gender breakouts they need to plan smarter content, partnerships, products, and marketing — without flattening the audience into a single “kids” bucket.

Tweens and Teens are not one audience, and the KidSay Q1 2026 Trend Tracker shows exactly where the biggest divides and similarities are shaping their lives now and in the future.

About this Report

The Q1 2026 KidSay Trend Tracker reveals how tweens ages 8-11 and teens ages 12-15 differ across media habits, platform use, spending power, food ordering, and AI adoption. For brands, strategists, and insights teams, this report delivers a sharper view of how kids actually live, choose, and engage right now, with the age and gender-based breakouts needed to plan smarter content, partnerships, products, and marketing.

Explore 60+ data sets across the topics shaping tweens’ and teens’ lives today. In addition to the breadth of data, the report includes a 63-page PDF with KidSay’s expert analysis in the Executive Summary with Topline summary and “So What?” implications, ethnographic Kid and Parent Profiles, trend data, and category snapshots.

Key Categories & Report Features Include:

  • Entertainment and media habits
  • Social, digital, and device behavior
  • AI awareness, usage, and attitudes about the future of AI
  • Spending, saving, and financial independence
  • Food drinks, Snack discovery, decision-making, and purchase journeys
  • Restaurants and delivery behavior
  • Toys, video games, and play patterns
  • Lifestyle shifts, school culture, and emerging attitudes
  • Brand awareness, coolness with category-level reads

This Data Helps You

  • Identify where age, gender, and ethnicity behaviors, beliefs, and interests diverge.
  • Track shifts in platforms, habits, and everyday decision-making.
  • Understand how kids discover, choose, and influence brands.
  • Spot early signals with implications for content, product, partnerships, and marketing strategy.

Findings that impact how brands engage with kids and families

49%

Kids 8–15 say they order food delivery on their own.

The full report includes top delivery apps and favorite restaurant brands by cohort.

78%

Of kids who know what AI is have used it.

For many kids, AI is no longer emerging. It is already embedded in how they learn, play, and explore.

→ See the full data preview for the methodology, full findings, and category breakouts.

Real Kids, Not Just Panels or Proxies

KidSay’s exclusive network of schools gives clients direct access to kids, educators, parents, coaches, and the environments where childhood actually happens.

Verified Kids, Not Proxies

Educators proctor surveys in real classrooms. Clients trust they’re hearing from verified kids, not AI-filled panels or parent stand-ins.

Schools Benefit!

KidSay incentives have awarded schools over $1.5M to help them afford extra-budgetary needs and support the environments where kids spend the most time in childhood outside of sleep.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions About KidSay’s Trend Tracker

Answers to what teams most often want to know before they purchase or schedule a call.

Can I insert a list of key brands or other custom questions in the next reporting period?2026-06-22T13:10:43-05:00

Yes. Clients often add custom questions to get a nationally representative read on their brand and competitors, or to understand specific opportunities to engage with their audience. It’s a way to get bespoke insight alongside the breadth of value KidSay’s Trend Trackers already deliver. Talk to KidSay to learn more.

Is dashboard access included with the Trend Tracker?2026-06-22T13:58:01-05:00

Yes. Every Trend Tracker purchase includes dashboard access for two users, with the ability to filter data by age, gender, and other key segments and explore open-ended responses directly.

Can I get a package of reports?2026-06-22T14:04:22-05:00

Yes. Most clients access the Trend Tracker through a multi-report subscription that includes dashboard access for two users and the option to add Early Trend Alerts. Talk to KidSay to find the right fit for your team’s questions and goals.

Does KidSay use panels?2026-06-22T13:12:36-05:00

Trend Tracker respondents are recruited first through KidSay’s exclusive network of schools across the U.S. When needed, panels are used to fill recruitment gaps, but real kids in real schools remain the primary source. Clients can trust they’re hearing from verified kids, not just AI-filled panels or proxies.

How long has KidSay been doing kids and families research?2026-06-24T09:04:51-05:00

KidSay has been studying kids and families since 1997, with the Trend Tracker study launching in 2000, giving us 26 years of trended data on the same audience. That longitudinal depth lets us separate what’s actually new from what’s been true about childhood for decades.

How is KidSay different from other kids and families research firms?2026-06-24T09:03:38-05:00

KidSay tracks four developmentally accurate cohorts (2-4, 5-7, 8-11, 12-15) and recruits primarily through a school-based network rather than online panels. Since the 2020 pandemic, parents and 5-7-year-olds have been surveyed using online panels as the sole recruitment source.

Tweens & Teens: Age breaks that make sense with kids’ development, not just generic ‘teen’ labels. Other firms often define “tween” as ages 8–12, which collapses 3rd graders who are in the midst of elementary school with 6th graders who have transitioned to middle school and socializing among 13 and 14-year-olds.

Families: We talk to both moms and dads. In 2026, the notion that moms are exclusively the gatekeeper of the family is just not true anymore. Dads are actively involved in many decisions about the household more broadly and impacting kids’ behaviors and preferences. KidSay’s Trend Tracker Family Report Study takes that into account and gives you a look at where parents’ influence is the same and where it diverges.

Our network extends beyond the family into the adults who know kids from an unbiased perspective, the educators with whom they spend 3/4 of the year in their schools.

What ages does the Trend Tracker cover?2026-06-22T13:40:04-05:00

KidSay’s Trend Tracker focuses on U.S. kids ages 8–15, broken out by age cohorts (tweens 8–11 and teens 12–15) and gender. KidSay also publishes a separate Young Kids Trend Tracker covering ages 5–7, and Family Reports covering moms and dads of kids ages 2–15.

How often does KidSay talk to this audience?2026-06-22T13:11:53-05:00

KidSay fields Trend Tracker research with kids ages 8–15 every quarter, with kids ages 5–7 twice annually, and with moms and dads of kids ages 2–15 twice annually. This cadence keeps clients close to behavioral and cultural shifts as they happen.

How does KidSay’s relationship with schools work?2026-06-22T13:39:30-05:00

KidSay’s incentive structure is built to help schools afford extra-budgetary expenses that improve the educational and developmental experience for students. In-school coordinators also receive an incentive for facilitating the research. Clients can feel good knowing their work with KidSay supports the environments where kids spend the most time in childhood outside of sleep.

Related Reports

2026 5-7-Year-Olds Trend Tracker

Kids 5 to 7 are mid-shift, forming their own preferences, habits, and influence while parents still control much of the world around them. The report maps where that influence is forming across their lives and includes a Purchase Journey focused on snacks.

Q1 2026 Trend Tracker

Across many digital behaviors, the gap between tween (8–11) and teen (12–15) cohorts matters more than the gap between boys and girls. Platform behavior is fragmenting fast, AI is no longer emerging, and economic independence is arriving earlier than most brand strategies account for. The Q1 2026 Trend Tracker gives brand, insights, and strategy teams the age and gender breakouts they need to plan smarter content, partnerships, products, and marketing — without flattening the audience into a single “kids” bucket.

About KidSay

KidSay has been serving brands with timely audience intelligence on kids and families for more than 25 years. Our trend reports provide brands with a direct connection to kids’ lives from their own perspective. KidSay Trend Tracker is a US-based nationally representative syndicated survey that utilizes KidSay’s exclusive network of schools as its primary recruitment source.

Need more information on bundling this and other KidSay reports?

2026-07-13T13:57:49-05:00Categories: Trend Reports, Trend Tracker|Tags: , , |

KidSay is the leader in youth market research, trend reporting, and strategy for brands seeking to understand and engage kids, tweens, teens, and families.

Our nationwide network of 500+ schools provides a direct connection between brands and young people. We help our partners reveal the authentic values, behaviors, attitudes and aspirations of the target audience.

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