Do people underestimate your children simply because they are children.....?

Question

There is nothing that angers me more than people dumbing things down for my kids, I tend to ask the person if they assume that everyone they talk to is stupid, or do they just do it to the ones who happen to be smaller?

Answer 1

it drives me crazy! I don't have kids of my own but I do have 2 very little sisters. I will be standing right by one of them and someone says something that sounds so stupid, I just look a t them and go she might be little, but she isn't stupid, talk to her like an actual person. They look at me like I'm nut but she usually looks at them and goes ya, treat me like a big girl! Its pretty adorable

Answer 2

I feel people treat me differently because I'm a kid.. and I can't stand it..

Answer 3

im  a kid and i feel like i get no respect and people treat me like i have the iq of like a little kid...even though i have a 4.0 gpa...it is so annoying!1 my friends feel the same way!

Answer 4

Tell me about it. I am 22 years old and look much younger. I hate it because ppl assume that I am a kid. They talk to you differently and don't give you the same amount of respect. However, I have always said that it should not matter what age you have. You should treat people with respect whether they are young or old. People should be treated equally.

Answer 5

Yes, I think that many people do not realize just how muck kids to pick up on.

But then I wonder what you are teaching your kids? Are you teaching them to respect others and to behave in such a way that others have a reason to respect them.

I will tell you right up front- If I had a 8 year old with blue hair questioning me on just about anything, I would simply look at his as a smart @ss punk that had lousy parents and he would probably get zero respect from me.

If you want your child to be respected, then teach him to do what is necessary to earn that respect from others.

Respect is not a gift that I give to just anyone, I give it to people who EARN it.

OK, I can see now. I have read your other postings. You do not show respect to anyone or anything.  Plus, this kind of behavior is what you are teaching your kids. BUT, boy you don't like it if someone does not show what you feel is enough respect for your kids!

DOUBLE STANDARD!

Answer 6

I think alot of people don't realize how much kids can understand, especially if they don't have any of their own.  I found myself surprised at how smart my niece was before I had kids, and then I found myself surprised at how much my son understood.  I tend to talk to kids like adults anyways, I think they pick up much better language skills that way.

Answer 7

The majority of "grown-ups" have no business interacting with anyone's children... even their own.

Answer 8

I have no kids (or atleast no legidiment lmao joking!), as a 15 year old I can say many people under estimate me, mostly people who don't know me, or haven't heard about me from someone who does.. Its mostly because the know my age before they know me. I am not the average kid, and for the most part they act like I don't know anything about the world, or I lack the skill that supposably every adult has. I've seen people dumb down for my younger brothers which makes me mad, because I'm in a pretty intelligent family, and for the most part we don't lack the intelligence we need.

In other words, most people see a 5 year old before they see a person. Its really annoying, not so much recently since I'm 6'2" and most adults aren't over 5'8" lmao, so must think I'm adult -_-, but I still get it every now and then.

I.Q. has little to do with it, flat out intelligence. I give no adult who respect who doesn't give it to (parents and grands exception) me at the same time, or atleast acknowledges me with it. Its one thing to get rules and regulations at a young age, but that doesn't mean I can't think on my own, or for that matter understand things.

I hate seening people talk to little kids with a fun voice asking questions and such, its annoying and stupid. We would have smarter kids these days if people would acknowledge they are smart, and not dumbing down everything to a non existant populus of stupid children.

Answer 9

My guess would be people underestimate your children because you let them express themselves and people are reacting to their appearance.

For example, in another question you mentioned letting your son have a blue mohawk... I think most people assume that guys with mohawks are not that bright.

Answer 10

I don't have children but I remember when I was a child and people talked down to me it was always annoying. I remember thinking that they were assuming I was stupid just because I was young. Keeping your comments age appropriate doesn't mean only using one syllable words. I guess things haven't changed much in the last thirty years or so.

Answer 11

I feel like I'm underestimated all the time.

I'm just a kid so of course I know nothing about anything :/

Especially when it comes to debates and stuff, people automatically assume you're opinions and whatever are all void since you're young.

Answer 12

Yes people really do underestimate the little ones...I have a 4 yr old myself and I know how smart they are at a very young age.  People just assume they should talk to them like babies, and not have normal conversations with them...but they are WAY smarter than people give them credit for...they are like a sponge absorbing everything in the world around them...and the only way they learn is if you communicate to them in a normal way....they like it too, it gives them confidence and makes them feel good :)

Answer 13

I'm not sure what you mean by "dumbing things down."

As a parent asked the question "Where do babies come from?", would your answer be the same to a five year old and a fifteen year old?  

I don't believe in lying to children, but information does need to be given in an age-appropriate fashion.

Answer 14

I lived that way for pretty much my entire childhood.  You sort of get used to it after a while and figure out that people who are doing that may not be worth your time since they haven't bothered to figure out you're probably less dense than they are.

I'll have to file the "do they just do it to the ones who happen to be smaller" comment away for future reference.  It could come in handy some day.

Answer 15

Yeah people are always surprised when my boys say certain things or do things they don't think little kids know how to do.

Answer 16

My daughter is 11 and she is in gifted classes at school because of a high IQ, yet people away from school would talk to her like she's "just a kid".  She is probably smarter than a lot of adults.