Just a question I thought I'd pose because I consider there to be two parts of young life - childhood (about age 3 to 12) and adolescence (especially 13-17 when you're still a minor). I've noticed some people tend to lump them together.

When I was a teen I sometimes got very angry about that...say if a teacher called me a "child". I wasn't rebelling against my childhood in middle or high school...in fact I embraced it and still do. I had nothing against little kids at all, I just didn't like being put in the same boat with them. It felt kinda like being babied or treated like I was less intelligent or functionable just because of a technicality.

I think another reason it upset me was because I had some (literal) childhood nostalgia for the '80s and early '90s at the time. Not the way I do now, but I totally differentiated my little kid years from the present (let's say around 1997), because alot had changed in my own life since. Whether it was thinking back to the first time I got into a videogame or a song, or a cherished personal/family memory, I still looked at it as a comfortable separate time...recent but different.

Was I the only one who felt this way? Not that it matters per se, but this always was something that weighed on my mind to an extent, so I'd be curious what other people think or thought.

I think it has something to do with age... I still refrain from referring to myself as a woman.. I opt for girl when I talk about myself and friends but when I talk about people in their 20s or younger... I call them all kids.

I think it has something to do with age... I still refrain from referring to myself as a woman.. I opt for girl when I talk about myself and friends but when I talk about people in their 20s or younger... I call them all kids.




Oh yeah, that's true. The word "kid" has a bunch of meanings and it's usually meant kinda casually. I think most people use it when we're talking about someone notably younger than us. I guess I consider most people under 17 or maybe even 19 as kids now.


Another point for the main topic that I forgot to say, but at the risk of sounding cocky (and I hope I don't), I was probably more mature than alot of other teens. I never smoked, didn't get in fights, rarely went to parties and was a virgin (still am, in fact). I also was generally intelligent and respected people...so that's probably why I took offense to being blended with teens who did that, or just acted stupid and bratty in general.

Don't get me wrong, I've always had a fun and goofy/entertaining side too, but I think I wanted to distance myself from the image of immature or jerky kids.

Well for me, there's the toddler phase (1-2) childhood phase (3-8), the preteen phase (9-12), the adolescent phase (13-17) the adult phase (18-39) the middle age phase (40-55) the senior citizen phase (56 and over).

I think maturity does come into it. My nephew is 13 and i would say he's still a child. There again I know people in their 40's who still act like they are at kindergarten! Some people never grow up. To disagree with the post before mine I do not consider 18 an adult in most cases. I think when you are 18 you like to think you are an adult but rarely are mature enough.

I think maturity does come into it. My nephew is 13 and i would say he's still a child. There again I know people in their 40's who still act like they are at kindergarten! Some people never grow up. To disagree with the post before mine I do not consider 18 an adult in most cases. I think when you are 18 you like to think you are an adult but rarely are mature enough.


I agree with that Gis...I don't consider them an adult either. I mean, legally yes..they are, but emotionally/mentally...most of them are not mature yet to be classified as that. I would say that 21 would be a more suitable age to consider "adulthood"...but that's just my opinion.

Also....clarifying what the poster above stated...the toddler age usually goes up to like age 4 (even when buying clothing, it is common to see 2T, 3T, 4T, and sometimes 5T)....it definitely doesn't cut off at age 2. ;)

I understand that, but by law, when you become 18, you are a legal adult.   You are legal to vote, but not to drink or go to the club/bar or something.  When you turn 18, you have other access that adults have.  That's why I put 18-39 as an adult age.  An 18-year-old may not be an adult emotionally/mentally (it depends on the individual), but an 18-year-old is an adult by law.  Why do you think that most 17-18 year olds are seniors and graduating out of high school?  You barely see someone over 18 in high school.  Toddler years, according to research, ends at age 3.  The pre-schoolers are ages 3-5.  The elementary school ages are 5-10 or 11.  Middle school ages are 11-13 depends on the school. High school ages are 14-17 or 18.  This is just my opinon based on different resources and websites that I research on.

In adolescence the dominant command is: Go out and reproduce your own kind!  Then by the time you're emotially mature enough and economically stable enough to actually do so, it's too doggone late!  You have to go to one of those fertility thingies.

I understand that, but by law, when you become 18, you are a legal adult.   You are legal to vote, but not to drink or go to the club/bar or something.  When you turn 18, you have other access that adults have.  That's why I put 18-39 as an adult age.  An 18-year-old may not be an adult emotionally/mentally (it depends on the individual), but an 18-year-old is an adult by law.  Why do you think that most 17-18 year olds are seniors and graduating out of high school?  You barely see someone over 18 in high school.  Toddler years, according to research, ends at age 3.  The pre-schoolers are ages 3-5.  The elementary school ages are 5-10 or 11.  Middle school ages are 11-13 depends on the school. High school ages are 14-17 or 18.  This is just my opinon based on different resources and websites that I research on.



just because you graduate high school does not constitute instantly being an adult. As I stated above, I am aware that by LAW one is considered an adult at the age of 18, however, IMO...I do not classify someone at the age of 18 as an adult. There are a vast majority of 18 year olds who have never had a job, never had any life experiences, and just because they are graduating high school doesn't mean that they are "adult material", by any means. This is why I stated that someone at least 21 should be considered more of an "adult" than an 18 year old. By 21, one has had the experiences of work, college, etc to put under their belt.

As far as the whole toddler thing...I was going by your original post where you said that it only went from ages 1-2. Technically it's supposed to end at age 3, however (knowing this from experience, as I am raising a child)....the clothing sizes extend the toddler age up to at least 4, if not 5. So..it depends on how you look at it.

Well for me, there's the toddler phase (1-2) childhood phase (3-8), the preteen phase (9-12), the adolescent phase (13-17) the adult phase (18-39) the middle age phase (40-55) the senior citizen phase (56 and over).



take that back... middle aged does not start at 40!  take it back! take it back!  >:(



;D

In adolescence the dominant command is: Go out and reproduce your own kind!  Then by the time you're emotially mature enough and economically stable enough to actually do so, it's too doggone late!  You have to go to one of those fertility thingies.


  So true.  Adolescent - something was getting nailed.  We were going to nail something and we didn't much care what it was.  If it was pretty and had breasts, so much the better... :D

  And another thread ends-up in the gutter.  Where's my rubber E.T. finger..?

 
  On topic, maybe you weren't the only one to feel that way but I never felt that way since I grew-up around alot of senior citizens.  A 3-12 y/o or a 13-17 y/o is always going to be a child to a 60+ y/o.  I also think that is the cause behind my limited social development with people my own age.  Basically, from the age of five until after high school, I was around much older folks much of the time; grandparents, great-aunts and uncles, friends of the family who were my grandparents' age.  Even my babysitters were elderly...

  Pop-culture was never a factor and an intelligent conversation on the subject would've been difficult, akin to learning Chinese.  Were Gramps alive today I'm quite certain he would still muss my hair and call me a "pistoling" (pronounced: pee-stole-ling.  Means "a young pistol")...

  Being referred-to as a child while in my teens wouldn't have bothered me in the least.  Now, if your posse's over at your house and your mom breaks out the photo albums with the piccys of you bare-assed in the bath tub, you'd probably want to have a little talk with her... 

take that back... middle aged does not start at 40!  take it back! take it back!   >:(



;D


I'm sorry, snozberries.  I was just going by what people say, you know, people always want to make an opinion.
SORRY!!!! ;D

take that back... middle aged does not start at 40!  take it back! take it back!   >:(



;D

Amen,at least wait till we're 50 :)

  
   On topic, maybe you weren't the only one to feel that way but I never felt that way since I grew-up around alot of senior citizens.  A 3-12 y/o or a 13-17 y/o is always going to be a child to a 60+ y/o.  I also think that is the cause behind my limited social development with people my own age.  Basically, from the age of five until after high school, I was around much older folks much of the time; grandparents, great-aunts and uncles, friends of the family who were my grandparents' age.  Even my babysitters were elderly...

   Pop-culture was never a factor and an intelligent conversation on the subject would've been difficult, akin to learning Chinese.  Were Gramps alive today I'm quite certain he would still muss my hair and call me a "pistoling" (pronounced: pee-stole-ling.  Means "a young pistol")...

   Being referred-to as a child while in my teens wouldn't have bothered me in the least.  Now, if your posse's over at your house and your mom breaks out the photo albums with the piccys of you bare-assed in the bath tub, you'd probably want to have a little talk with her...  


^ Oh yeah, that would be beyond embarrasing. ;D Actually I can relate to that in a roundabout way because when I was 11 or so, my mom became friends with this girl who was around 19 or 20 at the time (long story). She actually stayed with us for awhile, and I thought she was really cute. Well, one day she was looking through our photo albums, and I got horrified of her seeing certain ones of me. I think I ran over and was like "oh come on don't look at those". ;)


Seriously though I agree, people probably sometimes forget the differences as they get older and have the tendency to lump literal childhood and adolescence together. That's totally understandable in a way, just because both stages must seem really young to them. Even to me now I think of 14 year olds more as "old kids", but I have to remind myself what it felt like to look up on them from the other side. I'll never forget those different stages of growing up...I mean when I was like 6, they seemed pretty darn big and adultish! Then again, young kids look at things really pure hearted for what they simply are, they don't look at technicalities.

On the surface though, yeah words alone don't matter, so I guess it was more what that word implied. Like deemphasizing the mature half of me and making me feel like just a big strong deep-voiced 9 year old.

I'm sure there were teachers and other adults who thought it was ridiculous that I was talking about missing 1987 in a "good old days" way in 1995 or something, lol. I guess it also depends on personal experiences. Like if your kid and teen years were fairly similar in environment, you might blend them together. Maybe I differentiated so much, because lots of things changed for me in terms of my family, immediate surroundings or just things I picked up about life.

That caused me to look back on my little kid years in a somewhat "removed" way as a teen. I believe I just was frustrated that I couldnt make some people grasp that.

I just want to say that age and maturaty are two different things.  My dad was one of those all knowing aka idiot types at 18 ( teen).  I never made it to 18 yet (child). 

Amen,at least wait till we're 50 :)

Numbers don't matter.  You know you've hit it when college kids call you "sir"/"ma'am" and you call college kids "kids"!  And fooey on this "middle age" flapdoodle!  Call it what it is: Old! Old! Old!  No, 40 is not the new 30, it's still the old ooolllld....


Now, I gotta go  soak my teeth and recharge my hearing aide batteries.
:P

^ Oh yeah, that would be beyond embarrasing. ;D Actually I can relate to that in a roundabout way because when I was 11 or so, my mom became friends with this girl who was around 19 or 20 at the time (long story). She actually stayed with us for awhile, and I thought she was really cute. Well, one day she was looking through our photo albums, and I got horrified of her seeing certain ones of me. I think I ran over and was like "oh come on don't look at those". ;)


Seriously though I agree, people probably sometimes forget the differences as they get older and have the tendency to lump literal childhood and adolescence together. That's totally understandable in a way, just because both stages must seem really young to them. Even to me now I think of 14 year olds more as "old kids", but I have to remind myself what it felt like to look up on them from the other side. I'll never forget those different stages of growing up...I mean when I was like 6, they seemed pretty darn big and adultish! Then again, young kids look at things really pure hearted for what they simply are, they don't look at technicalities.

On the surface though, yeah words alone don't matter, so I guess it was more what that word implied. Like deemphasizing the mature half of me and making me feel like just a big strong deep-voiced 9 year old.

I'm sure there were teachers and other adults who thought it was ridiculous that I was talking about missing 1987 in a "good old days" way in 1995 or something, lol. I guess it also depends on personal experiences. Like if your kid and teen years were fairly similar in environment, you might blend them together. Maybe I differentiated so much, because lots of things changed for me in terms of my family, immediate surroundings or just things I picked up about life.

That caused me to look back on my little kid years in a somewhat "removed" way as a teen. I believe I just was frustrated that I couldnt make some people grasp that.


   I know what you mean.  It wasn't compromising piccys with my family but the tales of how I would spit-out my strained peas or something disgusting about diapers or somesuch.  It's like, "can we change the subject..?"

   When in grade school we had a term for any kid older than us - "big kids".  We avoided big kids because big kids beat-up little kids.  Why?  Because they could?  They were bigger, stronger, faster (like Steve Austin), smarter, cooler, 10 feet tall and bulletproof.  We looked-up to them while fearing them.  Completely unreasonable, of course, for once we hit high school we realized that the "big kids" were all chumps anyway...

   So, if I understand, as a teen you were already regarding your childhood as the "good ol' days".  Hmm, I don't think I was capable of that kind of hindsight as a teen.  I had more important concerns to burn brain cells on.  Perhaps your youth was especially unpleasant.  I mean, more unpleasant than what's considered normal.  Only you know what these "changes in family, immediate surroundings and things picked-up about life" are...

   Any kid preoccupied with human biological technicalities, outside a learning environment, would seem a bit pathological to me... 

   I think lumping childhood and adolescence together is just a time saving convention like lumping "Democrat" with "Liberal" or "Republican" with "Conservative".  "Kid" with "youth" with "teen" with "child".  It's just easier.  Simpler.  We like easy and simple things..!

   groove ;) on...


  "compromising piccys with my family" - It's cool.  I didn't mean it like that... ???


   

     

   I know what you mean.  It wasn't compromising piccys with my family but the tales of how I would spit-out my strained peas or something disgusting about diapers or somesuch.  It's like, "can we change the subject..?"

   When in grade school we had a term for any kid older than us - "big kids".  We avoided big kids because big kids beat-up little kids.  Why?  Because they could?  They were bigger, stronger, faster (like Steve Austin), smarter, cooler, 10 feet tall and bulletproof.  We looked-up to them while fearing them.  Completely unreasonable, of course, for once we hit high school we realized that the "big kids" were all chumps anyway...

   So, if I understand, as a teen you were already regarding your childhood as the "good ol' days".  Hmm, I don't think I was capable of that kind of hindsight as a teen.  I had more important concerns to burn brain cells on.  Perhaps your youth was especially unpleasant.  I mean, more unpleasant than what's considered normal.  Only you know what these "changes in family, immediate surroundings and things picked-up about life" are...

   Any kid preoccupied with human biological technicalities, outside a learning environment, would seem a bit pathological to me... 

   I think lumping childhood and adolescence together is just a time saving convention like lumping "Democrat" with "Liberal" or "Republican" with "Conservative".  "Kid" with "youth" with "teen" with "child".  It's just easier.  Simpler.  We like easy and simple things..!

   groove ;) on...


   "compromising piccys with my family" - It's cool.  I didn't mean it like that... ???


   

     


That makes sense. Yeah, I used to be afraid of older/bigger kids sometimes too, in a complimentary way. That's also true about people sometimes using words for multiple meanings to make it easier.

Oh don't get me wrong, at every point in my life I've had some good and bad things. I actually have alot of cool memories from my teen years, so it's not like it was Hell on Earth when I was 15 and everything was perfect when I was 7...maybe I was being a little overdramatic there.

I guess I just meant there were alot of sentimental memories I had built up by then, both personal experience as well as pop cultural or entertainment. I'll give you one example - around 1987 or '88 my dad made a series of mixtapes for the family (songs we all liked, mostly more current songs with some oldies mixed in), where he did these psuedo dj-ing and announcements between the songs, sometimes doing cartoon or celebrity voices and stuff. I always loved those tapes and it was like one of the most warm memories of my childhood. Anyway, within a couple years most of them had either been eaten, lost or taped over. So pretty much all the time since then, I always kinda missed them and the memories associated with listening to them in the car and all.

Maybe tapes aren't the best example, but you get kind of what I'm saying, right? That, along with more significant things like my grandma's still being alive and spending time with them...are what separated my childhood from my teen years. I admit both are nostalgic today, but part of the reason I also miss the teenage years are because it was still not far away from childhood. 7 or 10 years is way better than 15 or 20!

Well, as far as what age you are considered an "adult", I think thats all relative. My grandparents think that anybody under the age of like 40 is still a "kid", which I suppose to them they still are,lol. All I would say on that is that everyone reaches levels of maturity at different ages. I'm about to turn 21, but I honestly don't feel any more of less mature than I did when I turned 18. On the flipside, some of my friends (despite being in there 20's) still act like teenagers, and I have one friend that's almost 30 who acts like he's still in middle school sometimes ;D

After I was about 12 or so, I hated for anybody to ever call me a "kid". Especially once I entered high school, it almost felt to me like an insult when I was like 14 or 15 and someone would call me that.

   I know what you mean.  It wasn't compromising piccys with my family but the tales of how I would spit-out my strained peas or something disgusting about diapers or somesuch.  It's like, "can we change the subject..?"

   When in grade school we had a term for any kid older than us - "big kids".  We avoided big kids because big kids beat-up little kids.  Why?  Because they could?  They were bigger, stronger, faster (like Steve Austin), smarter, cooler, 10 feet tall and bulletproof.  We looked-up to them while fearing them.  Completely unreasonable, of course, for once we hit high school we realized that the "big kids" were all chumps anyway...

   So, if I understand, as a teen you were already regarding your childhood as the "good ol' days".  Hmm, I don't think I was capable of that kind of hindsight as a teen.  I had more important concerns to burn brain cells on.  Perhaps your youth was especially unpleasant.  I mean, more unpleasant than what's considered normal.  Only you know what these "changes in family, immediate surroundings and things picked-up about life" are...

   Any kid preoccupied with human biological technicalities, outside a learning environment, would seem a bit pathological to me... 

   I think lumping childhood and adolescence together is just a time saving convention like lumping "Democrat" with "Liberal" or "Republican" with "Conservative".  "Kid" with "youth" with "teen" with "child".  It's just easier.  Simpler.  We like easy and simple things..!

   groove ;) on...


   "compromising piccys with my family" - It's cool.  I didn't mean it like that... ???


   

     


I always hated taking the school bus to school because of the bigger, badder, older kids.  ;D They typically sat in the back of the bus, so to avoid confrontation with them I sat towards the front. I used to think of the older kids not just bigger, but meaner and stronger. Somehow, when I got older, I didn't really feel that way. I sat in the same position I always did on the bus even after I was part of the older crowd.

Just like wildcard said, I think age and maturity are two different things. I've met some very mature and intelligent people in their early twenties, and people in their 40's who acted like they were still in junior high school.