Why do people treat kids like they aren't human?

[i.Sarita.com]

I hate people who talk to kids like they're pets or something. That kind of thing use to piss me off when I was little, and even back then I knew it was annoying. I talk to kids like they're people, and I always seem to get along with them better than a lot of adults I know.

[Burst]

It's funny you say this, because ever since I got the job at the calendar kiosk at the mall, I'm amazed at how damned popular kid leashes are nowadays. Yes, they're to harnesses, not collars, but still. While most parents that use 'em just keep the line slack and whatnot, one mom was seriously holding the leash and walking her kid just like you'd walk a dog. I couldn't believe it.

[Orange]

I don't know but I find it incredibly stupid as well, and annoying.

[blackmegaman]

But to be fair........who among us has a child (Not Me)

[default]

I don't use baby talk on animals or children. If I'm talking to them, I just talk to them in my normal voice and a sterner and louder voice if they're acting up. (I should probably mention I talk pretty quietly and have a fairly low voice most of the time, so I just slip into "stage voice" which I had to learn in dramatic arts class. I never really yell as it just gives me a headache.)

I'm also far too monotone to do singy-songy voices.

["Twisted and Tormented" Ash]

Little kids loves me cause I give them attention. I know what you mean I have seen parents treat their kids like they are animals and some was just down right mean and it pissed me off. I don't understand why we need to put a leash on our children I mean honestly they are not dogs but hey we are living in a world where anything and everything is messed up.

[Mayonnaise]

Sept 30, 2010 21:09:24 GMT -5 Burst said:

It's funny you say this, because ever since I got the job at the calendar kiosk at the mall, I'm amazed at how damned popular kid leashes are nowadays. Yes, they're to harnesses, not collars, but still. While most parents that use 'em just keep the line slack and whatnot, one mom was seriously holding the leash and walking her kid just like you'd walk a dog. I couldn't believe it.

I used to hate those things, then I took a trip to the zoo with my 18mo cousin and was amazed by how quick she could get away from us. She wants to be walking on her own and having one of those helps more than I would have ever imagined.

Not saying we treated her like a dog on a leash but, it was nice to have some security in knowing she could walk on her own and not run off like she tried to.

[Kevin Hamilton]

As far as talking to them goes, I look at it like Christopher Titus said " People that talk babytalk to their kids crack me up, because they're teaching them a language that doesn't exist."

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

Sept 30, 2010 22:25:49 GMT -5 Mayonnaise said:

Sept 30, 2010 21:09:24 GMT -5 Burst said:

It's funny you say this, because ever since I got the job at the calendar kiosk at the mall, I'm amazed at how damned popular kid leashes are nowadays. Yes, they're to harnesses, not collars, but still. While most parents that use 'em just keep the line slack and whatnot, one mom was seriously holding the leash and walking her kid just like you'd walk a dog. I couldn't believe it.

I used to hate those things, then I took a trip to the zoo with my 18mo cousin and was amazed by how quick she could get away from us. She wants to be walking on her own and having one of those helps more than I would have ever imagined.

Not saying we treated her like a dog on a leash but, it was nice to have some security in knowing she could walk on her own and not run off like she tried to.

My parents kept me on a leash when they took me out when I was a toddler. My mum says I was a speedy little f***er

[mattperiolat]

Sept 30, 2010 21:09:24 GMT -5 Burst said:

It's funny you say this, because ever since I got the job at the calendar kiosk at the mall, I'm amazed at how damned popular kid leashes are nowadays. Yes, they're to harnesses, not collars, but still. While most parents that use 'em just keep the line slack and whatnot, one mom was seriously holding the leash and walking her kid just like you'd walk a dog. I couldn't believe it.

Same here. Two jobs I worked at, I saw kids just treated so horribly from one boy being dragged out by his hair (and he had almost a crew cut as it was) to kids being sworn at to being dragged about by the leashes.

You know, I think the truth is our opinions on this will be colored by our experiences. If we or someone we were close to were mistreated, chances are our response to even small things may be stronger. Don't mean to generalize, but it is a thought.

As to why... I honestly don't know. There's an argument for having kids too young, when it's still more about you than them, there's the possibility of having more than one so close together, so that it's just easier to handle... you name it, could be an explanation.

[HMARK Center]

I think the problem out there is that too many parents are having kids for reasons that appear closer to why they'd want a bigger screen TV or a bigger house: it seems like they want a vanity item. They want something small and cute they can call their own and show off to others.

Obviously that's not all parents, but it's just what happens when people do just about anything for selfish reasons.

[Fiddleford H. McGucket]

I have 2 kids....... and a few opinions on this.

1. Those leashes are a godsend with my daughter, she's 2.....and faster than both myself and her mother.

2. Children as Vanity pets is one of my biggest pet peeves, they're YOUR future, your bloodline, and most importantly SHOULD be the most important people in your life. You should be willing to kill and die for them if the need arose. Now using a Snugli or the like is one thing (Using one with Multiple Kids makes everything easier), using them as a status symbol is another.

3. Don't assume that because the Parents are young that they're idiots......or that they're poor parents. My wife and I are in our early twenties, we're not perfect, far from it. Our kids will probably be horribly screwed up...but hey, who isn't? We love our kids.

[Tyfo]

I don't know.

When I was a kid, I was a huge sports and wrestling fan, and I would talk to lots of adults about them, who were also fans and they would always talk normally to me and everything, and I appreciated it.

I HATED people who would talk down to me or assumed I was just a stupid little kid who didn't know anything.

I actually have a cousin who is 8 years old now, and he's a big basketball fan, pretty much like I was at his age. And I talk to him all the time about basketball. When I do, I talk to him like I would someone my age. Because I know what's it like to be that age and talk to adults about stuff like that. I know he knows what he's talking about, just as I did, and I don't need to treat him like a moron. He hated "The Decision" just like everybody else! ;D

[Thomas Powers of Paine]

It's just another sign of the decline of our society; it's a symptom of our increasingly decadent culture.

And Mulligan: Just love them well and push them to do well in school and they likely won't be screwed up.

[Fiddleford H. McGucket]

Oct 1, 2010 0:25:02 GMT -5 Thomas Powers of Paine said:

It's just another sign of the decline of our society; it's a symptom of our increasingly decadent culture.

And Mulligan: Just love them well and push them to do well in school and they likely won't be screwed up.

I just push them to do their best in whatever they do......mind you my OLDEST is 2 and my youngest is only 8 months, but the thought is there.

I do plan on teaching them a few Basic truths that have escaped the most recent generation though

- It's OK to lose
- If you Fall down.....Get back up.
- Take Responsibility: Sometimes it IS your fault
- As long as you tried your best that's good enough for me.
- Keep a positive Attitude
- Treat Everyone with respect and kindness, even those that deny it to you.

[Throwback]

I try hard not to talk down to my little girl. For the most part it's worked out well and she's had a huge vocabulary and ability grasp most concepts by the age of three. But every once in a while no amount of logic or detail will help her understand. So yes there are occasions where I have to give her a short answer because she just isn't getting it. Then's when I pull out the safety phrase of "You'll understand when you're older" she knows by now that if I say that line. It's better to just leave it at that.

[AFN: Judge Shred]

I save the mockery and talking down for adults.

I work with kids every day. And they love me, because I treat them like humans and take interest in their stories and life, plus I am have no shame and will make a fool of myself, which a lot of adults refuse to do (yet I have more dignity than most of them). People who talk down to kids piss me off, or talk bad about them. The child you are talking about is a better human being than you are.

[i.Sarita.com]

I'm glad I'm not the only adult that realizes kids are people too and talks to them like such! ;D

[A Platypus Rave]

Kids aren't people... they are sleeper agents for the aliens <_< >_>

[Deleted]

I don't like kids much, but even I'll admit that adults don't give them enough credit. They're much smarter and more independant than they get credit for.

Unfortunately, in today's world parents think that if they let their kids out of their sight for 5 seconds they will get killed, kidnapped, or molested. We also dumb down our entertainment nowadays to make it more kid-friendly, when in reality kids are smart enough to not need that.