Why are certain topics often considered childish?

Dionysos

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What is it that makes certain things to be considered childish? By this it could include historical things, nature, space, etc, etc.

Yes it is natural that there will be childhood versions of all topics, so to market toys / shows / etc of various themes, and it is important to stimulate a child’s imagination and creativity in a broad way, etc, etc. But I often get the impression (which I’m open to being mistaken) that the priority for these topics is often to the children, to the extent that to be interested in some topics might immediately be considered childish by some people.

If a man or woman of a grown age are interested in certain topics then they are sometimes considered odd, geeky, or childish. Why?

I guess this thread spawned (of all silly things which does not help my case!) from a moment the other night when my Mom said she was making gingerbread reindeer, and that she had green icing that she wasn’t using. I’d suggested that she do a gingerbread dinosaur, and she then claimed that would only be appropriate for children, and immediately assumed I was not being serious. Now this isn’t to blame for this thread, it only determined that I should have it in mind to put up here sometime soon. This is something that often springs to mind, for a split second, whenever I come across people’s attitudes towards certain topics (before I ignore them and continue to like what I like privately :argor:).

This isn't at all really about dinosaurs particularly, but since it was the example above, I'll go with it. So what actually makes dinosaurs childish? A dinosaur is the last thing I’d want to introduce a child to. Either carnivorous or large herbivorous dinosaurs would be quite dangerous. And thinking from a child’s perspective, I think a child would also be rather frightened in the presence of a real life T-Rex who is nothing like the child’s precious Barney. And yet dinosaurs in particular fall victim to being viewed upon as something which children are allowed to be interested in unquestionably, stomping about in their living-rooms screaming ‘raaaagh!’, and yet any ‘serious’ adult who brings up this topic of conversation might receive odd looks or a laugh. Not always, granted, but I often get the impression that a lot of people have to play down their interest in certain topics (or just about anything, sometimes!) to avoid embarrassment. Or perhaps adults struggle to find the opportune moment to bring this up, providing there ever would be one? What a waste of what could be decent conversations! The fact that this might sound silly is itself quite silly.

I don't know if the 'you don't have as much time when you are older' argument covers it entirely either, though it undoubtedly plays its role. Having interest in something doesn't need to take a long time.


I noticed that for many topics which you may search for on Google (be it a historical period, or a specific topic within a historical period, or other things) the Google searches start to fill in predictive searches ending with ‘for kids’. As if you would only be searching this for kids. Why should history and nature, etc, be for kids only? Or is it that most people statistically are mainly searching for stuff for their kids to help with homework, etc? If so, is that a sad thing, or in the eyes of The People should I abandon myself and strip myself of what seems like everything I care to enjoy?

Why should only children be interested in them? There is much more for an interested adult to gain from thinking about or investigating these things, so why should they feel as if they are denied this?
People tend to (or have to) dumb down these topics for children, or make generalisations that aren’t factually complete. Sometimes rather than just including children in interesting topics, it has gone in the opposite direction, and adults can be excluded.

It just seems quite bizarre, and I wondered what the root of it was. What is it today with the fascination of leaving everything to childhood, and behind at childhood, and deriding people who keep up with it?
Childhood is very important, I’d agree, but there is more beyond that. I know a lot more about certain topics now than I ever could have done as a child.

I’m damned if to be 'respectable' the only things I can be interested in are women, beer, and modern-day tribal displays of aggression! There is nothing wrong with the former two if sensible, but I need another element too to keep my (in)sanity. :argor:


Don’t get me wrong though. Contrary to the very existence of this thread, I don’t care if people call people childish for liking certain topics. That doesn’t change what I’m interested in during my free time / moments when my mind is my own, and from my individualised point of view it is their loss. I’m just curious, and wondered if other people had been curious, or have any insightful comments or think I'm very silly, etc.
Thoughts?
 
This sounds like what I got into a discussion about with one of my friends.

I always enjoy Pixar, Disney and Dreamworks animation movies even if it is "childish" to still wanna see them. They think I am too old to like such things, but I don't care :mokken: :wacky:

Honestly, I have no idea why a lot of these topics are considered childish. I think a lot of it has to do with how it was/is advertized.

Think about Dinosaurs, sure we have the Jurassic Park movies, but then you have many little toys to go with it for kids, then you have the Land Before Time movies, and many other movies that make Dinosaurs "for kids". Also when do you talk/hear about Dinosaurs the most during school? My guess is when you were younger (in 1st-3rd grade?)


In the end I guess we can just look at how society try's to advertise all these things that are considered "childish".
 
Often I feel people put down a topic whichever it maybe because its "basic" or "childish", however I feel like this is also childish itself to judge something so narrow minded. Pixar, Disney, Sony, or whatever other studios like Ghibli are very imaginative creations and often as we grow into adulthood we try to be more logical, I feel as if people have lost sight and cannot understand it anymore so its labeled something like "childish" to make that person/thing feel its little; people reflect what they are through speaking and like they say a fool opens his mouth wide open.

My brother is 32 works for Disney currently and is the most open minded / intellectual man I know.

In my eyes nothing is childish.
 
I'm 24 and I still enjoy cartoons, animated movies, I still love everything I did just as much as when I was a kid. I still have all of my star rare Pokemon and still love Pokemon(the original) to this day. I still laugh at farts and immature jokes. I dont care if people see this as "childish". Fuck society and their view of whats acceptable and whats not.
 
Since the topic of dinosaurs was mentioned a few times, I'll roll with it.

I don't find dinosaurs childish. Kids and adults find them interesting, even the biological aspect of it - nothing childish about it. Now, often times we do apply a sort 'playfulness' to dinosaurs, but that's normal. For example, I was watching the Jurassic Park trailer the day before Thanksgiving Day. My kids saw the trailer too, and I noticed my son had that troubled look on his face. So being the evil mom that I can be at times, I cheerfully announced, "Guess what?! We're going to Jurassic Park and see the dinosaurs tomorrow!" My son took it seriously and cried about it for ten minutes, poor thing. The next day, we were driving to Nevada to see my family and we were surrounded with mountains. I decided to continue the cruel (not really) joke and told my son to watch out for dinosaurs as they may pop out from nowhere. Sure, childish (and insert whatever word you want) for a parent to discuss this with her kids, but I don't mind! I can talk dinosaurs all day and how they can bite your toes if you don't put shoes on.
 
I am of the firm belief that there are no interests that could be considered inappropriate because of someone's age (unless it's adult things for children of course). Target audience and age constraint is a purely sociological barrier, created by the masses. If you asked someone "Why do you think cartoons are inappropriate for an adult?" they wouldn't be able to give you a proper constructive argument, probably just along the lines of "just because it is".

I personally still watch cartoons, collect stuffed toys or figurines, play video games and all that mallarkey. I have been called immature and childish many times, but I believe that as long as you're mature and responsible when the time calls for it, then the rest is free reign.

Social expectations are silly anyway, we all know this. xD
 
Maybe these things are considered "childish" because of the posturing and idea of what is considered respectable. When you grow up, you're supposed to get your nine to five job in some firm, have your keys and purse in hand to signify your car and wealth. These are certainly not bad things by any stretch of the imagination but it does create a particular way of thinking.

Personally when I see situations in which people regard things as "childish", I figure that "the lady doth protest too much". There is actually a large amount of individuals who may seem to be the usual run of the mill sort, who have some pretty cool and unusual hobbies. I know one guy who is an accountant/ international tax consultant by day and an avid LEGO builder by night. By all appearances he seems the ordinary sort, but one mention or sight of LEGO will reveal the joyful, slightly mischievous and fun person he is.

There is a big difference between being childish and childlike. To be childish is to be petty, immature and focused on self, however, to be childlike is to have retained a sense of wonder, awe and joy of life. For some, the journey into adulthood suppressed this joy and it is the absence of such childlike joy which gives some people the feeling of "something missing" from their lives. I believe people don't actually lose the child within, they simply bury and deny it hence when seeing a person who has successfully reconnected to (or never lost) their inner child there can be a certain amount of resentment.
 
I think it's how you approach/deal with the topic that makes for childishness. I live near London Zoo and I've really been wanting to go and see the animals. I haven't been to the zoo since childhood and it feels childish, but then I'm wondering if the "boring" animals are going to be more interesting now that I'm older or if I'm just going to want to see the cool ones like the lions. :lew: I'm gonna find someone to go with me!
 
Ha ha. :D

It’s common for people to associate going out to enjoy seeing animals with being like a child. So much so that sometimes we feel guilty as adults going alone to a place like a zoo. Sometimes people feel the need to grab a child to go with (obviously I mean this in an innocent, familial way) and use the child as an excuse, or as some sort of human-shield from abuse, just to be able to visit a zoo again. If there is a kid giggling at the funny face pulled by a camel then it is socially acceptable for you to also be standing there in the middle of the afternoon looking at a camel.

But rationally thinking about this sort of thing (if we deconstruct this mindset), is there anything really childish in visiting a zoo and seeing animals that you’re never likely to meet (hopefully!) wandering about the bins outside your house? Is it really childish to want to see animals like a panda, penguin, giraffe, elephant, lion, etc? Or perhaps even if these are not exotic enough these days, there will likely be other animals which are more obscure and interesting to see.

Maybe it’s the educational side which people associate with children. When adults reach a certain age they sometimes like they need to pretend that they know all there is to know about animals, the world, and life itself. The thought of wandering into a zoo and meeting a zebra, when they should already know what a zebra is and believe they should already know all of the necessary facts that are put up on a board next to the enclosure, horrifies some people. To be seen learning something else to some people might be unthinkable. But you never stop learning. Why should you want to stop? Life goes on, and all people can continue to grow in themselves. Meeting that zebra might be a wonderful experience (I exaggerate - bad example :argor:), or a person might read some trivia that they didn’t actually know (more than likely, after all!), and some of it might even stick with the person after an hour later, and then they’ve gained something from it.

I don’t really see anything childish about it. Yet people often perceive there to be something very childish about seeing animals and learning about them. Perhaps if we alter our thinking on that then there is nothing wrong with it.

There's nothing childish about wildlife in the slightest. If we were to meet these animals without fences and enclosures, we’d definitely want all children to be at a safe distance from them. So is it the fences that make it childish? Because it is safe? Would adult zoos have to be completely open environments where adults are released into a jungle of animals, armed to the teeth like Rambo to hope to survive?

I haven’t really visited a zoo since I was a child or young teenager, as it happens. In my case I don’t really have a zoo close at hand though. If I did I wouldn’t be ashamed about going to one alone. If anything I’ll be going there as some sort of passive-aggressive protest, fighting for adult rights to enjoy such things.

I visit museums whenever I get the chance, and there are countless items in museums that actually a child would not understand or appreciate fully. There are many things on this earth of ours that can be adapted to entertain children, certainly, but there is much, much more that can also be expanded on for adults to enjoy, and indeed learn from. I’m learning more about the world and the things on it as an adult than I ever did gawping at cartoon drawings of smiling lions bouncing about happily under a happy-faced sun. As a child, a real lion would have eaten me. Being eaten is hardly an appropriate activity for a child to partake in.
 
From a personal point of view I have never heard of people seeing an adult visiting the zoo as being a childish pursuit. When I was in college, many of my tutors and class mates went to the zoo frequently and were definitely not embarrassed by it. The Irish can sometimes be a stuffy lot but even then there isn't any judgement passed on such ordinary things.

If, however, you were seen giggling over a "Where's Wally" book then certainly you would attract an odd glance or two along with the token disapproving granny glare, but not so much if you were just visiting the zoo or museum. Maybe that's just Ireland but I honestly don't think so.
 
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