# When did you lose the misconception that stupid little kids were the ones that existed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2017, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777 "2017-07-21T02:49:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/21 "2017-07-21T06:49:15Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > To provide the tiniest modicum of highly qualified support for the OP, my experience is that many people (particularly IME young single adults) find little kids a trial and can be quite unforgiving of unruly or upset kids in public. Yeah, I guess this makes sense. There was never a period in my life when I was out and away from family life - there have always around me been friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbours with young kids, so I never developed a sort of view that kids were ‘that problem over there’. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/22 "2017-07-21T07:02:06Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Their views tend to change if/when they have more to do with children in a sympathetic situation. In particular, when one’s brothers/sisters/friends start having children - and even more so if/when you have your own children - you discover it ain’t easy and that even children of your own family can be quite the handful. Very young children, much like cats, simply cannot be disciplined. They don’t have the mental capacity to relate their behavior with any sort of punishment that follows, thus the parental ‘‘meanness’’ is confusing and arbitrary. At worst, it fucks with their trust in their caretaker. The best strategy is distraction, or making some other behavior more desirable. People who don’t spend a lot of time around children don’t understand this, and blame the parents or declare the children to be ‘‘badly behaved.’’ I’m sure many parents also don’t understand this. Hell, I didn’t even know it until I read it in an article given to me by my adoption caseworker. It’s just a hard age for controlling behavior. I know I’m comparing children to pets but it’s my only real point of entry into this conversation given my limited experience with children and my ownership of two cats. Plus I read somewhere that cats have roughly the intelligence of a three year old human, so it works. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/23 "2017-07-21T10:27:51Z")
> [@Trisha\_Gaurav](#): > > I think we all had the misconception that stupid kids were the only ones in existence. I mean, if you see some anonymous kid throwing a tantrum, and another anonymous kid bawling, of course you’re gonna think stupid little kids are the only kind there are. But who _only_ sees that? Sure, you see crying, fussing kids but you _also_ see quiet or sleeping or playing kids. How do you live where the ONLY kids you see are crying for this misconception to begin? I mean, you had to have gone to school, or a park, or the mall or somewhere with other kids, and not everyone is crying? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/24 "2017-07-21T10:41:39Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > But who _only_ sees that? Sure, you see crying, fussing kids but you _also_ see quiet or sleeping or playing kids. How do you live where the ONLY kids you see are crying for this misconception to begin? > > I mean, you had to have gone to school, or a park, or the mall or somewhere with other kids, and not everyone is crying? Selection bias could account for that. Noisy kids are easier to notice. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/25 "2017-07-21T11:01:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Selection bias could account for that. Noisy kids are easier to notice. The OP never spent a day in a classroom as a kid and noticed the kids who weren’t having a tantrum- she thought she was alone? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/26 "2017-07-21T11:25:22Z")
> [@Trisha\_Gaurav](#): > > The misconception that morons were the only little kids that existed. My younger daughter is smarter than I am and she never got good grades on essays. She had a terrible habit of writing down the minimum she believed conveyed her thoughts. She was wrong. Although she understood the thought process behind her statements the readers could not. After she made the effort to write down the things she thought were obvious her grades improved. Unless you are Oscar Wilde your audience will not understand you fully from single sentence posts. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/27 "2017-07-21T11:40:45Z")
_ **When did you lose the misconception that stupid little kids were the ones that existed?** _ I’m not sure of the date, but it was around the time I stopped beating my wife. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/28 "2017-07-21T12:28:28Z")
> [@Trisha\_Gaurav](#): > > I think we all had the misconception that stupid kids were the only ones in existence. Nope, I never had that misconception and I’m pretty sure most people haven’t had it. Perhaps it’s just you? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/29 "2017-07-21T12:41:00Z")
I have not lost the conception that inattentive/lazy parents who do not appropriately supervise their children in public are stupid/clueless.\* \*classic example being parents who dawdle interminably over the detritus of their restaurant meals, noses stuck in their cellphones, while their bored kids yell and run rampant around the place. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/30 "2017-07-21T14:53:10Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I had no idea anyone thought this. Lots of people think this. World’s full of misanthropes. You guys have never read a post from curlcoat? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/31 "2017-07-21T16:17:27Z")
> [@Trisha\_Gaurav](#): > > I think we all had the misconception that stupid kids were the only ones in existence. I mean, if you see some anonymous kid throwing a tantrum, and another anonymous kid bawling, of course you’re gonna think stupid little kids are the only kind there are. ?!? 😕 !??? Please elaborate, most specifically on whether or not you have this misconcept when you yourself were a kid. Did you think of yourself as a stupid kid, or as a meaningless exception that somehow proves the rule (i.e., that you and you ALONE were a non-stupid person and had to share a category, as well as many a classroom, with all those damn stupid kids)? ---
**Author:** ![Trisha\_Gaurav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Trisha\_Gaurav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trisha_Gaurav)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/32 "2017-07-21T16:38:09Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > ?!? 😕 !??? > > Please elaborate, most specifically on whether or not you have this misconcept when you yourself were a kid. Did you think of yourself as a stupid kid, or as a meaningless exception that somehow proves the rule (i.e., that you and you ALONE were a non-stupid person and had to share a category, as well as many a classroom, with all those damn stupid kids)? The expression “What are you, 5?” leads you to believe that moron she are the only little kids that currently exist. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/33 "2017-07-21T16:44:23Z")
I consider myself a fairly decent adult, but way back when there were times when I was a stupid little kid. I think it’s some kind of rule. ---
**Author:** ![Trisha\_Gaurav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Trisha\_Gaurav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trisha_Gaurav)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/34 "2017-07-21T16:50:59Z")
> [@Trisha\_Gaurav](#): > > The expression “What are you, 5?” leads you to believe that morons are the only little kids that currently exist. Mainly expressions like “A 5-year-old knows better.” lead you to believe that morons are the only little kids to currently exist. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/35 "2017-07-21T17:05:31Z")
> [@Trisha\_Gaurav](#): > > The expression “What are you, 5?” leads you to believe that moron she are the only little kids that currently exist. 😕 Clarification only moron not currently this little kid currently exist, sorry. Is language this English newly, yes? Also not moron, but clarification still doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Trisha\_Gaurav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Trisha\_Gaurav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trisha_Gaurav)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/36 "2017-07-21T17:09:33Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > 😕 > > Clarification only moron not currently this little kid currently exist, sorry. Is language this English newly, yes? Also not moron, but clarification still doesn’t. Sorry, typo on my phone. Expressions like “A 5-year-old knows better” lead you to believe that for the past 5 years, only morons were being born. ---
**Author:** ![Trisha\_Gaurav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Trisha\_Gaurav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trisha_Gaurav)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/37 "2017-07-21T17:10:50Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > ?!? 😕 !??? > > Please elaborate, most specifically on whether or not you have this misconcept when you yourself were a kid. Did you think of yourself as a stupid kid, or as a meaningless exception that somehow proves the rule (i.e., that you and you ALONE were a non-stupid person and had to share a category, as well as many a classroom, with all those damn stupid kids)? Expressions like “A 5-year-old knows better” lead you to believe that for the past 5 years, only morons were being born. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/38 "2017-07-21T17:12:40Z")
> [@Trisha\_Gaurav](#): > > Mainly expressions like “A 5-year-old knows better.” lead you to believe that morons are the only little kids to currently exist. OK, that version parses much more clearly, thanks. No. Expressions like “A 5-year-old knows better” mostly confirm my long-held belief that society has extremely nasty and condescending attitudes towards children (I’ve always been a militant children’s libber, at least since I was 4). I knew that neither I nor other kids my age were stupid or dismissable. It is true, of course, that we possessed less knowledge and in many ways less understanding of our world, but there were plenty of exceptions where a kid might understand some things better than an adult (or in some instances better than adults _in general_). I did not think adults, as a class, were morons, and in fact I greatly admired and respected them _in general_. But there were many _specific_ adults who had shitty attitudes towards children (condescending, belittling, entitled, unfair in general) and I had a very low view of them that came very close to viewing them as morons. They’d been children once; what the fuck was wrong with them that they couldn’t remember more clearly what it was like? Where’d they get off treating us like that? No excuse for it! ---
**Author:** ![Trisha\_Gaurav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Trisha\_Gaurav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trisha_Gaurav)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/39 "2017-07-21T17:18:05Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > OK, that version parses much more clearly, thanks. > > No. Expressions like “A 5-year-old knows better” mostly confirm my long-held belief that society has extremely nasty and condescending attitudes towards children (I’ve always been a militant children’s libber, at least since I was 4). I knew that neither I nor other kids my age were stupid or dismissable. It is true, of course, that we possessed less knowledge and in many ways less understanding of our world, but there were plenty of exceptions where a kid might understand some things better than an adult (or in some instances better than adults _in general_). > > I did not think adults, as a class, were morons, and in fact I greatly admired and respected them _in general_. But there were many _specific_ adults who had shitty attitudes towards children (condescending, belittling, entitled, unfair in general) and I had a very low view of them that came very close to viewing them as morons. They’d been children once; what the fuck was wrong with them that they couldn’t remember more clearly what it was like? Where’d they get off treating us like that? No excuse for it! No, the misconception that for the past 5 years, only morons were being born. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777/40 "2017-07-21T17:34:12Z")
> [@Trisha\_Gaurav](#): > > No, the misconception that for the past 5 years, only morons were being born. I don’t think that people mean that at all. When someone says, “What are you, five years old?” they usually mean the other person is acting immaturely, not that they are stupid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-lose-the-misconception-that-stupid-little-kids-were-the-ones-that-existed/791777.md?page=3)