The Adult Gaze and Adultism

“Adultism refers to the bias or discrimination adults and social institutions demonstrate against young people on account of their youth.” Dictionary.com

This involves systemic and implicit biases which centre the needs of adults and holds them as superior to those of children. These ideas are firmly rooted in the belief that children are “less than”, that children are not whole people in their own right and that children do not deserve autonomy and agency. Adultist views also believe that if children aren’t closely monitored, controlled and corrected that they won’t be ok.

In addition to this, imposed social norms also influence how children are treated and this can include gazes from various perspectives such as –

The Patriarchy

White supremacy

Capitalism

Neurotypicality

Ableism

Ageism

Binary gender views

These “adults know best” views are very harmful for adults and children alike and they can exploit the already very present power differences between adults and children. Some children will show us through their behaviour that these power differences are really impacting them in challenging ways. Working with Nurturing Humanity, we will focus on how to ensure that children and their parents or teachers stay safe and feel heard, all the while recognising and acknowledging that children and young people deserve to have autonomy too.