What is Childism? The Overlooked Bias Shaping Our Society

Most of us recognize racism, sexism, ableism, and classism as systemic forms of oppression. But there’s one form of bias that remains deeply ingrained, yet rarely named: Childism.

💡 What is Childism?

Coined by Elisabeth Young-Bruehl, Childism refers to the systemic discrimination, prejudice, and oppression of children—where their voices, needs, and rights are dismissed simply because they are young.

Childism exists when:
🔹 Children’s emotions and experiences are belittled or dismissed.
🔹 Kids are treated as property rather than individuals with rights.
🔹 Public spaces are designed primarily for adults, making families feel unwelcome.
🔹 Adults expect children to behave as “mini adults” instead of recognizing their developmental needs.
🔹 Disciplinary systems focus on control and compliance rather than guidance and learning.

The core issue? Children are one of the only groups in society without autonomy over their own lives. They are legally dependent on adults and are often excluded from conversations about their own needs.

📜 A Brief History of Childism

For centuries, children were seen as property rather than full human beings. Societies have long placed children in roles of servitude—whether through child labor, forced apprenticeships, or strict obedience in families.

While modern child protection laws (child labor bans, education rights, child welfare laws, etc.)have improved conditions, many societal attitudes toward children have not changed.

Many cultures still expect children to be:
🚫 “Seen and not heard” (prioritizing adult comfort over children's voices)
🚫 Obedient without question (rewarding compliance over autonomy)
🚫 Excluded from public life (childfree spaces, restrictive policies, and exclusionary urban design)

The result?

Children remain one of the most marginalized groups, often without legal agency over their own bodies, choices, and voices.

🌍 Where Do We See Childism Today?

🚪 Exclusion from Public Spaces → The rise of “childfree” restaurants, flights, and businesses makes it harder for families to navigate the world. Instead of designing inclusive spaces, we push children out.

⚖️ Legal & Policy Discrimination → Children don’t have a say in policies that directly affect them (education laws, healthcare, voting age restrictions, etc.), despite being impacted the most.

🏫 School System & Authoritarianism → Many schools focus on obedience, testing, and punitive discipline rather than fostering emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and creativity.

🗣️ Dismissing Children’s Voices → Many children’s emotions are invalidated. Phrases like “You’ll understand when you’re older” or “You don’t know what you’re talking about” reflect a broader cultural dismissal of their experiences.

📺 Media & Social Attitudes → Children are often mocked, ridiculed, or portrayed as annoyancesin media. Parents who advocate for their kids’ well-being are frequently criticized as “entitled.”

💡 Childism & Intersectionality: The Overlapping Layers of Oppression

Childism does not exist in isolation—it intersects with racism, gender inequality, disability rights, and economic oppression.

🔹 Race & Ethnicity → BIPOC children experience disproportionate discipline in schools, higher rates of policing, and racialized adultification. (Example: Black children being treated as older and less innocent than their white peers—a phenomenon known as adultification bias.)

🔹 Gender & Sexuality → Girls are often expected to be more mature and emotionally regulated than boys, while boys are discouraged from expressing vulnerability. LGBTQ+ youth often have little control over their gender identity and face systemic erasure in education.

🔹 Disability → Disabled children experience higher rates of institutionalization, lack of autonomy over their bodies, and exclusion from mainstream education. Society frequently treats disabled children as burdens rather than full participants in life.

🔹 Economic Status → Low-income children experience food insecurity, housing instability, and educational barriers—and their needs are often ignored in policy decisions.

👉 Childism reinforces other systemic biases—further marginalizing children based on race, gender, class, and ability.

💡 How Do We Challenge Childism? Steps for Creating Change

🌱 Respect children’s voices. Kids deserve to be heard in conversations that impact them. Ask them for their opinions and take their feelings seriously.

🏡 Make public spaces child-inclusive. Advocate for family-friendly infrastructure instead of excluding kids from public life. Cities should prioritize accessible playgrounds, stroller-friendly paths, and community seating that encourages intergenerational connection.

🧩 Shift adult-centered thinking. Instead of saying “Kids shouldn’t be here,” ask “How can we make this space welcoming for all?”

📚 Support policies that uplift families. Universal childcare, equitable education, and paid parental leave benefit everyone, not just parents.

🤝 Educate yourself & others. Awareness is the first step toward dismantling harmful attitudes.

🗳 Advocate for youth rights. Support efforts to lower the voting age, reform punitive school policies, and ensure children’s voices are represented in policymaking.

📖 Further Reading & Resources (Intersectional & Diverse Authors)

📘 Childism: Confronting Prejudice Against Children – Elisabeth Young-Bruehl (coined the term "Childism")
📗 Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation & Healing Work – Akilah S. Richards (on autonomy & decolonizing education)
📙 Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools – Monique W. Morris (on adultification bias & racialized Childism)
📕 We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom – Bettina L. Love (on systemic oppression in education)
📖 Parenting for Liberation: A Guide for Raising Black Children – Trina Greene Brown (on child autonomy in Black families)
📚 The Hundred Languages of Children – Loris Malaguzzi (on respecting children’s diverse expressions)
🌎 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (global perspectives on child advocacy)
📄 Articles on "Adultification Bias" from Georgetown Law Center on Poverty & Inequality

💭 Final Thought:

Children are not second-class citizens. Their needs, rights, and experiences matter.

A more inclusive society begins when we stop seeing children as inconveniences and start seeing them as equal members of our communities.

How do you think we can challenge Childism in everyday life? Let’s discuss.