In simplest terms, a little is the submissive partner in a CG/l relationship. A DD/lg relationship is a type of CG/l relationship where the dominant is in a caregiver role, and the little is the one being cared for, physically and emotionally. Of course, you don’t have to actually be in a CG/l relationship to know that you are into it, or to identify as a little.

Why Do Littles Choose to be Little?

Being little is an aspect of a person’s personality, and how personalities come to develop is a very complex subject that is way outside the scope of this article. But the short answer is that we don’t really choose our personalities. We just like the things we like and are the people we are. Littles are no different. Why does anyone have the personality that they do? Littles just are little, the same way that kind people simply are kind, and jerks simply are jerks. They can’t exactly help but to be who they are – they just are who they are, the same way you are who you are. It’s not much of a choice.

“Daddy Issues”

A common, but ignorant, assumption is that littles in DD/lg relationships have daddy issues. Sometimes that may be the case, but no more so than people not in DD/lg relationships might have daddy issues. Lots of people have daddy issues, and that being the case and also happening to be into DD/lg does not mean there is any correlation, and often times there isn’t one.  

What Do Littles Get Out of Being Little?

The most universal thing that all littles get out of being in a CG/l relationship is being cared for by their caregivers, or their “Bigs” as they are sometimes called. Littles may also just be more connected to their inner child than most people are and enjoy that. This could manifest strictly internally, with just having a worry-free headspace, and child-like wonder. But often also manifests externally to some extent (or even to an exaggerated extent) with exhibiting child-like behavior while they are in that headspace (“little space”). Littles may enjoy feeling like children, dressing like children, doing activities more closely associated with children, playing with children’s toys, talking like children, and/or be treated like children.

What Makes You a Little?

Being a little, much like any other part of your identity, exists on spectrum. As a little you can pick and choose which elements of being little you do or don’t wish to incorporate into your own personality, and to what extent. You do not have to conform to anyone else’s idea of what a little is, so please don’t let anyone tell you you’re not a “real” little because you don’t like or don’t participate in certain activities that other littles might. The bottom line is that if you like to mentally regress to the age of a child, you are a little.

What is Age Regression?

Age regression refers to the psychological and emotional changes that take place when a little enters little space. They essentially regress back to a child-like place in their mind. This can be very comforting and therapeutic for the little. It’s a way for them to disconnect for a time from having to be an adult, and all of the pressure and stress that comes along with that. Everyone has their own way of relaxing and coping, and regression is just how littles do so. Unlike many other commonly used methods of relaxing and coping, such as consuming alcohol and drugs, regression is not an inherently unhealthy practice. Like anything else, it can be unhealthy if practiced in an unhealthy way, but there is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to feel like a child again, and DD/lg relationships are a loving and safe container for littles to achieve that.

Age Regression is Different Than Age Play

Age regression differs from age play in that age regression is a mental state, whereas age play is a type of role play. Those are two different things, but they are not mutually exclusive. Certainly, many littles do also engage in age play while they are regressed into little space, and that can greatly enhance the experience even. But age play is also not a necessary element of age regression.

What’s Your Little Age?

Age regression can be to a specific age, can be to an age range, or can blend attributes from different age ranges. In some cases, regression doesn’t have to do with age at all. Sometimes the regression is to the mentality of a different animal altogether, often a cute pet such as a puppy, a kitty, a bunny, or a fox (“pet space”). Pet play is a topic for another article, but is also a CG/l dynamic, and pets are littles too. Some littles associate their littleness with a specific age (their little age), but you do not have to have a little age in order to be little.

You don’t have to like everything about a particular age to regress to that age either. You can choose to regress to a baby age without liking to wear diapers for example. Likewise, you do not have to regress to a particular age range to enjoy some of the things associated with that age range. You may regress to an age range of 10-12 for example, but still like to suck on a pacifier. That’s ok.

Regression is the Essence of Being Little

Some things, especially pacifiers are just closely associated with the aesthetic of being little. It’s not uncommon for littles to wear a pacifier as an accessory outside of little space. But there is a big difference between dressing like a child, or like an animal for that matter, and actually being a little. Enjoying the aesthetic of being little, and dressing in that particular style by itself does not make you a little. It’s enjoying the feeling of being little, and mentally regressing to achieve that feeling that makes someone a little.

Adult Babies

“Adult babies” would be the youngest age range a little could regress to. This headspace is known as “baby space”. Some babies like to wear diapers and are referred to as Adult Baby Diaper Lovers (ABDL). Some just like wearing diapers, whereas others may actually wet and/or soil their diapers. Some babies may also like sleeping in a crib. Other baby activities include wearing onesies, thumb sucking, pacifier sucking, drinking from a baby bottle, and being spoon fed like a baby.

Middles

“Middles” are littles that age regress to an older childhood age, generally 12-17. The cutoff is somewhat arbitrary with 17 being the last year leading up to legal adulthood in the United States. If a submissive likes to regress to college girl age for example, I think they could still be classified as a little. After all, college kids are just slightly older children and are not always known for being especially mature or responsible either.