For me my littles are under the age of 13. My teens are between the age of 13-19 and my bigs are 20 years and older. However, for me my littles often know a lot more than they should know at their age because of their experiences in life as well as the fact that they live 24/7 with older brothers/sisters commuicating around them. Everyone including lttles also get the chance to have an input into any big decisions that are going to effect the whole.

In my experience and understanding, alters stay the same age as when they first came to being. However, when a 6 year old has been 6 for over 50 years, (like one of mine is) they can be much more versed and savvy than a typical 6 year old. But emotionally, they remain the same age, often the age at which whatever trauma caused the formation of said alter in the first place. But not always.
Unfortunately, unless someone you're talking to, whether psychologically trained or not, knows this, they are likely to think you are lying if you tell them in that state your age, and can still think older. And unless you are able to explain why that is, you just have to take it in the chin. The pain of trauma and abuse lasts much longer and gets repeated in various ways, much longer than when the trauma first happened.

If my littles are talking then anyone older than them by a couple of years are bigs. Some are grups. All grups are bigs, but some bigs are younger than grups. Grups are old like moms and dads. Grups are bigger then me.

the bigs think anyone who cant take care of themselves is a little, so they say i'm little, but i'm 12 and can mostly take care of myself. the 6year old and the 3 year old are littles.

steph

Im Little and I love being little!!!!! I never get older. im just eight forever. bad things happened to Lisa and Melody and Kennedy at nine, so i never turn nine! im just eight!! ~Alice

@tyzz
it seems your internal organisation pretty much reflects how we grow in external life littles (youngsters), teens (teenagers) and bigs (adults)? Ive seen littles in the forum posts, ive seen bigs mentioned, and ive seen posts by teenagers but yours is the first mention a formally recognised group aged between littles and bigs, and the first time ive heard the word teens used in this manner.

@starfish
i have a friend, an online friend, who after several years i came to know dissociated. But i never suspected she was multiple. Till one day when my friend was 19 i hurt her and she dissociated and went offline. And i met one of her littles. This little one had sort of been drifting, ignored by my friend who refused to acknowledge or speak to her, The little one didnt know her name, was unclear of so many things except her school class and her age. She was eight. My friend was stunned and distressed the next morning when she read the skype chat log, She thought shed been asleep and had no idea who this younger self of hers was. A month or two later my friend dissociated again, and i got to chat with the little one again. This time shed found her way back a lot more could remember her name and many other things. And she told me of something she was looking forwards to next year, when she would be 9 and a half. I met this little one several more times, my friend always surprised the next morning to read a skype chat log when she thought shed been asleep. Though a lot less distressed each time. Anyways, one of these times the little one told me about what happened at the event she had been looking forwards to past tense. I didnt ask her age, but i got a sense of time frame that would have made her almost 10 perhaps? Though i tend to think of her as 8. And far as i can tell, she pretty much stayed this age for as long as we had occasional contact. So it would seem that sometimes littles can become older? Perhaps? Though i agree, its like you say this one was wise beyond her years once shed pretty much found herself

@stephanie
hi steph. Like tyzz, it seems you have a 3 tier age grouping ... littles, bigs and a subset of bigs grups. Like tyzzs teens, this is the first time ive heard the term grups It seems like youre in a transition age. Definitely no longer a little but not quite old enough to be accepted by the bigs? Transitions are often a bit awkward i suspect. And that seems to apply to all transitions, be they age ones or physical maturity or emotional maturity ones. Thank you for letting me know how things are with you

@Inikkiy
hi Alice. Youre the same age as my friends little, 8 years old. I think its a sensible idea to stay 8 if you wish. I notice youve been helping the DID Littles Group become more active. Well done, i think its really good lots of you littles are making friends there

a big thank you to all of you for taking the time to respond. Its helped clarify things for me. Another question now, if i may? How do you think of all yourselves? Are you a family? Or a system? Or a clan? A group perhaps? Something else entirely? I think ive read all of these terms being used here at one time or another

thanks
kevin

and yet another last question ...
if you have a name taht you use for people like me, non multiples - what is it> Am i singleton or .... ???

ty
kevin

outsider. Not meant as an insult. It's just, you're not in here with us. You can go places we cannot.

thanks stephanie
an outsider? Makes sense. But would that apply to all people not of your group? (Do you havea collective name for all of you - family, clan, system?) Or does it only apply to non multiples like myself?

and for a third time - another last question
-looks sheepish -
both of my friends seem fond of the colour purple. And i seem to remember quite a few woman multiples sharing thta their favorite colour is purple - more mention of ourp;le than any other colour. (Though not so much littles - pink seems a firm favourite there). Is purple a clear winner for favourite colours?

not sure about that but for sure each of us depending on experience has parts of all ages genders some have discovered more was watching the woman with seven personalities on you tube that is worth a watch, her switching is very noticeable especially her male young part Adam he is about 6 , Guess for what I can ascertain depends on a myriad of factors for each ,, definitely relate to littles and transitionals as well as the adult parts , and teens all over the place, but each so intregal to the whole , the family of parts dont want to lose any or what the train of thought is regarding integration I love having our family meeting daily with each giving input through speaking or writing, ages are dependant on how young abuse started so many factors, that is why it is great to hear each persons own experience