# Michael Jackson and children **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2021, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-and-children/938293 "2021-03-20T12:51:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Red59145](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Red59145](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red59145)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-and-children/938293/1 "2021-03-20T12:51:59Z")
why did michael jakson love children so much? What was he looking for in them? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-and-children/938293/2 "2021-03-20T13:15:52Z")
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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-and-children/938293/3 "2021-03-20T13:15:58Z")
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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-and-children/938293/4 "2021-03-20T14:54:46Z")
[This article](https://www.biography.com/news/michael-jackson-childhood-peter-pan-syndrome) explains better than I can, why Michael Jackson related to children. In a nutshell, the Jackson children were exploited by their father, who physically abused them. He didn’t have a childhood. Per the article, Jackson ‘loved children of all ages and races and… he enjoyed through them “the childhood I missed myself.”’ By playing with kids, he experienced vicariously the childhood he didn’t have. See also [Peter Pan Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan_syndrome). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-and-children/938293/5 "2021-03-20T15:05:20Z")
Let’s move this from GQ to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-and-children/938293/6 "2021-03-20T17:28:35Z")
What was Michael Jackson looking for in children? Mostly, his penis, mostly. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-and-children/938293/7 "2021-03-20T22:10:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [This article](https://www.biography.com/news/michael-jackson-childhood-peter-pan-syndrome) explains better than I can, why Michael Jackson related to children. In a nutshell, the Jackson children were exploited by their father, who physically abused them. He didn’t have a childhood. Per the article, Jackson ‘loved children of all ages and races and… he enjoyed through them “the childhood I missed myself.”’ By playing with kids, he experienced vicariously the childhood he didn’t have. See also [Peter Pan Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan_syndrome). Since you brought it up, I do want to point out that this argument doesn’t necessarily argue that he didn’t also do anything sexual with these children. Adults humans do tend to have sexual urges, and stuff like Peter Pan syndrome can mean those sexual urges wind up directed towards children. Heck, the person with the syndrome can even justify it by saying they’re “really” the same age as those children. Please do not read this as me arguing whether or not Jackson molested anyone. I’m simply saying him having Peter Pan Syndrome wouldn’t rule that out.