Leipzig Book Fair: Children are people too

Have you ever heard of adultism? It is not dishonorable if you, dear readers, have to answer the question in the negative. Nevertheless, you will have been confronted with it in your everyday life, either in your childhood or as a parent yourself. The word is derived from the Latin “adultus” and in English means adults, but in science it stands for prejudice or an arrogant attitude towards minors.

Manfred Liebel and Philip Meade clarify. The professor of child psychology and the social worker have published and given lectures on adultism several times. Now they offer a short and informative guide for those affected by adultism – in easy-to-understand language, clear and richly illustrated with funny cartoons by Natascha Welz that appeal to children and young people, as well as photos, some taken by the authors themselves. In order to ensure that their little book will be read by teenagers, the author duo gave the manuscript to six young “reviewers” in advance for critical reading.

How does adultism manifest itself? In the way adults try to teach children and young people, from above, often in a commanding tone: “Look at me when I’m talking to you!” – “Children don’t interrupt adults when they’re talking!” – “Don’t talk nonsense!” – “Don’t be so silly!” Threats are also included: “If you don’t finish, you won’t get dessert!” – “You’re about to get something behind the ears!” The children’s feelings are not taken seriously, their knowledge and skills underestimated: »This is not for children! You can’t judge that!” Children are denied the ability to make decisions for themselves, be it about their outfits, their hairstyles, hobbies and leisure activities.

Now one can object that it is the task of adults to give minors a moral and ethical compass, behavioral norms and practical advice on their way into life. But this can also be done in a more sensitive and understanding way. Adultism can have many negative effects on adolescents, unsettling them, intimidating them, causing them to react defiantly, making them angry or even plunging them into depression.

Adults are not always intentionally adultistic, the authors admit, often just carelessly. And they probably also suppressed the fact that they themselves suffered from degrading treatment or rigid upbringing methods as children. Examples of adultism can be found not only in the family, but also in school, in youth welfare services and in public spaces.

Liebel/Meade place the phenomenon in larger social contexts, in the context of the exercise of power by one group of people over another – men over women, whites against blacks, rich against poor. And, as we learn here: “If adults destroy the earth, that is also adultism. In the future, today’s children will probably have big problems because of this.

The duo refers to the General Equal Treatment Act passed in Germany in 2006, which left out the problem of adultism. Liebel and Meade also find the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to be inadequate. They sympathize with the initiative to enshrine children’s rights in the Basic Law. It should be noted here that it would be very useful if the core tenets of the UN Convention signed by almost all countries in the world were adhered to, such as the right to health, education, play and leisure, to non-violent education or to protection in war on the run and from economic and sexual exploitation.

»Adultism is bad for children. But it’s not necessarily good for adults either… Living together is then more strenuous,” you read here. Some people may initially be surprised when the authors criticize the fact that children are not allowed to have a say in whether they have an operation or that they cannot open their own bank account. When you think about it, Liebel and Meade’s argument seems quite plausible.

Some progress has already been made in the fight against adultism – 100 years ago with new types of schools and progressive educational concepts from reform educators. Student strikes against reactionary tutelage supported by communists and social democrats already took place in the Weimar Republic, as evidenced by a photo in this booklet. And nowadays there are class representatives and student parliaments.

The booklet concludes with a catalog of demands, created by nine to twelve year old children as part of a project by the Berlin Grips Theater. It says, addressed to adults: “Better think before you scream. Even if you’re busy, listen carefully for a moment. Why not try out the tips you give us yourself (for example, a day without a cell phone). Adults shouldn’t act like they know everything.” And so on and so forth. That would actually be a good start to taking children seriously as people, even if they are small.

Manfred Liebel/Philip Meade/Natascha Welz: What is adultism. The power of adults over children. An introduction for young people. Bertz + Fischer, 88 pages, br., 7 €.