At what age is a child no longer considered a "little kid"?

[Word Nerd]

Is your answer based primarily on age or grade, their size, or something else? 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I think it's somewhat individual.  I know thats not much of an answer, but I really don't have an exact age in mind. 

 

 

[PeacefulChaos]

When the boys hit 7-8, generally 'little kid' was over.  

Definitely by 9.  

 

 

ETA: I just remember 7 being like, 'Wow, my kid is SEVEN' and feeling like that was 'old', comparatively.  Now I can't really believe Astro is 9... I didn't notice 7 for him as much, but still I'd say I thought of it as more of a 'milestone' than any of the others we've had before or since.  

 

11 sounds like the next big one for me.  And that's like, 6 weeks away.  :P

[SparklyUnicorn]

When the boys hit 7-8, generally 'little kid' was over.  

Definitely by 9.  

 

But see my 9 year old acts like a little kid.  And he isn't the only 9 year old I met who did.

 

Then again my 12 year old never seemed like a little kid.

[SparklyUnicorn]

8 for the eldest.

 

12 for the middle

 

Some time after the 18th birthday for the third ?

 

:)

 

Whew..glad you said this.  LOL  I was starting to think I screwed up. 

[PeacefulChaos]

But see my 9 year old acts like a little kid.  And he isn't the only 9 year old I met who did.

 

Then again my 12 year old never seemed like a little kid.

 

I ETA'd my other post to clarify.

 

I have to say, I don't really know what defines 'little kid', either.  So I guess to me it's more of the way I see them than the way they act?  Idk. 

 

What does a 'little kid' act like?  I think Pink probably acts like a little kid lol... because she is one.  :D  But the boys?  I really can't remember.  Is there a certain way they play, a certain way they act, things they do?  (Just curious and trying to remember lol...)

[MEmama]

DS was never a "little kid".

 

In contrast, his 8 yo cousin is very much a little kid, though there are many mature 8 yos. It's definitely highly individualized.

[EKS]

When they get big front teeth is when I start to think of them as older.

[Farrar]

Around 8? 6 is definitely still little. 9 is, to me, definitely not.

 

Though I guess it depends what's meant. My 10 yos still play "pretend" games and will play with much younger kids and play little kid type games happily. Some 10 yos I know won't. They're "too cool." So if it's the age when kids outgrow those sorts of things, then I think it's very unique to the kid.

[LLMom]

I say around 6 or 7. 

[Rosie_0801]

Dd7 and I have compromised on her being a "little bit big."

[Elisabet1]

When they start to smell?

 

I am unsure. I know my 5 yr old seems like a little kid for sure. But my 10 yr old definitely is not a little kid. 

[rebbyribs]

Lands' End says clothing sizes 4-7 are "Little Kid" and 7-16 are "Big Kid".  That seems about right.  I think of my 8yo as being a "big kid" now, and I'm glad she has another 5 years before she's a teenager.  :-)

[Ausmumof3]

My 8 year old keeps telling me he's sick of being treated like a little kid so I guess he doesn't see himself as a little kid any more.

[Ali in OR]

I would say at 8 you're a big kid.

[momto10blessings]

8/9

[Arcadia]

My older boy thinks it's 8, because he doesn't need to be in a car seat anymore legally even though he was in a booster car seat until he outgrew it.

[FairProspects]

Around 8.

[Serenade]

My little dude just turned 12, and just recently have I begun to feel he's not a little kid anymore. Although he'll still sit in my lap on occasion, and he'll still occasionally have some rousing pretend play going on in his room. Although it's less and less. I remember for years shaking my head at all the interesting noises that would come out of his room during our afternoon quiet time, and now it is rare indeed. He is usually reading or building with Legos.

[Aura]

LOL...interesting you ask this right now. I just officially promoted my ds10 from one of the "kids" (my youngest four) to "one of the older ones," complete with a later bedtime, extra privileges and extra chores.  :lol:

[Storygirl]

I'm not sure. My three youngest are close enough to each other in age that they are sometimes mistaken for triplets. And my oldest is a couple of years older than they are, so for a long time we called the three youngest "the little ones." Recently MIL called them that, and I realized that I haven't said that for awhile, because it doesn't fit them any more now that they are nine and ten.

 

On the other hand, they still play in dress up clothes and call me "mommy" and talk in little child voices and often act in ways that I consider "young for their age." So now I think they are not "little" any more, but are still "young" and not "big."

[Mommy22alyns]

It depends on whether they're the oldest or the youngest.

 

When Rebecca was 9, I was like, "C'mon kid, you're NINE!"

 

Now that Sylvia is 9, I'm like, 'Aww, but she's just nine!"

[Desert Strawberry]

8-9. 

I'm freaking out a little because my 8yo is still emotionally about 5 yo, but he's not a little kid anymore. He's almost as tall as me, getting stronger every day, much bigger than my three and five year olds. He's rapidly becoming a giant kindergartener. If he were growing up like a normal 8yo, he would definitely not be a little kid anymore.

[SparklyUnicorn]

It depends on whether they're the oldest or the youngest.

 

When Rebecca was 9, I was like, "C'mon kid, you're NINE!"

 

Now that Sylvia is 9, I'm like, 'Aww, but she's just nine!"

 

Me too!  And I don't know why that is!!

[Reefgazer]

I'd say about 11-12, so based on age.  I think that is when I started to be able to discuss serious adult issues with DD and when she started taking on more real responsibility for herself, as well.

[Annie G]

It depends. We had two sets of kids- 2 girls 2 years apart, then 7 years later had another set two years apart. So we referred to them as 'the big girls' and 

'the little kids'. Yeah, the youngest little kid towers over his sisters and will be old enough to consume alcohol in a few months.   So not a little kid any more, but we occasionally refer to them that way. 

 

On the other hand, my oldest granddaughter is 7 1/2 and I recently realized she's not a little kid. Wow- that happened quickly! 

[Ellie]

Is your answer based primarily on age or grade, their size, or something else? 

 

Certainly not by "grade," since children aren't grades. Probably some combination of age and size. Generally, I would not consider a 5yo a "little kid."

[Dory]

It differs depending on the kid. Something to do with maturity. My oldest felt like a big kid when he was 6. He has always been a little overly mature for his age though. Dd stops feeling like a little kid around 8ish. My youngest is almost 8 and still feels very much like a little kid.

 

It's not just me who has seen my kids like that either.

[SKL]

I seem to recall referring to my kids as "little girls" at age 7, but now at age 8 they are just plain girls.  (Or "great big third graders" as I tell them when they need to stop acting immature.)

[wintermom]

8 for the eldest.

 

12 for the middle

 

Some time after the 18th birthday for the third ?

 

:)

 

Yup. My 4th will be 30 and still a little kid, I imagine. ;)  Of course, I'll be in my 70s, and my perspective will have altered a little as to who is 'old' and who is 'young' overall. 

[Momofeat]

This make me think of a conversation I had with my dd(15) and a couple of her friends, who happen to be identical twins. I told them that no matter how old a child is, he/she is always little to the parent. My mother still calls me "little girl," and I'm sure I'll call my dd "little girl" when she's in her forties.

 

Then one of the twins piped up and said, "And I'll always be 'Mommy's little girls'!"   :lol:

[KungFuPanda]

Double digits?

 

Of course, MIL calls DH and me (both in our forties) "the kids" and my teens are "the babies."

[J-rap]

When my son (my oldest) was 6-1/2, my fifth child was born.  He seemed very big and old to me, not little kiddish at all. 

 

When my youngest was 6-1/2, she was seemed so very little and young, and remained so til she was about 10!

 

 

 

 

 

[Mrs Mungo]

I think around 10 is probably the average dividing line. But, my kids are older than a lot of the other posters. Maybe it just feels different when you are completely on the other side of that line.

[Mrs Mungo]

Certainly not by "grade," since children aren't grades. Probably some combination of age and size. Generally, I would not consider a 5yo a "little kid."

Really? I was thinking of the dividing line between when I hear complaints of "only little kids are signed up for that field trip!" I definitely think of a 5 year old as a little kid. Anything younger is a toddler/preschooler.

[AndyJoy]

I acquiesce when my 5-year-old insists he's not a little kid but I smile privately because he is. Anyone who is awed and thrilled by such trifles as popcorn and gum, any cartoon, story, or song featuring a dog, and "getting" to use the broom or push the garage door opener is a little kid :)

 

I think the age varies by kid, but somewhere between 7-10 seems to be the dividing line for kids I've known.

[Guest ustzhenya]

I know thats not much of an answer, but I really don't have an exact age in mind. 

[Pink Elephant]

Fun topic!

 

Looking back on it, I spanked my children right up to and including their seventh and eighth years, so IMO anything up to and including that age/stage, I'm comfortable with classifying as being little, but that's just my personal view on the matter, which of course will undoubtedly vary from person to person.

 

As we all know, not all children mature at the same level or speed, so applying a hypothesized theory or ideal in relation to age and size alone to determine a logical outcome that's representative of (i.e., little, big, etc), or attempting to ascertain whether or not that very same child (i.e., single/double digits) falls into the category of a suggested group, does not accurately consummate or forecast what I would classify as being an accurate guide or marker symbolic of.

[Word Nerd]

A woman I lead an activity with considers my DD one of the "little kids" in our group, and it annoys me more than it should. Though I think of her as my baby, I don't see her as a little kid anymore. I think the woman underestimates what DD and others in the group who are her age are capable of, and I think they're more sophisticated than she assumes. She seems to feel a need to keep things we plan as simple for the kids as possible and have the adults take charge of everything, whereas I think the kids can handle more responsibility. I think we should encourage them to take more ownership and be more directly involved in the planning and implementation of our club activities—especially when they take the initiative and express an interest in doing so. I'm not talking about anything potentially dangerous or age-inappropriate. The current issue is a skit or talent show number. A few of the kids had a good idea, IMO, but the other leader shot it down immediately because she thinks they're too little to pull it off. I acknowledge that's possible, and it will be more of a challenge for some kids than others, but I don't see any reason they can't at least try before we pronounce them incapable of doing it. 

[momofkhm]

Is your answer based primarily on age or grade, their size, or something else? 

 

 

Good question.  I find myself referring to my dds friends as "little girls".  But they are all in 16-21 year old range.  But I've known most of them since they were little.  They are definitely as mature as their age implies they should be.  I htink referring to them as anything else makes me feel old.

[Dmmetler]

Early childhood ends at age 7, and primary grades at 3rd (so usually age 8 for most kids), so that's kind of when I think of kids as moving from "little kid" to "big kid", and usually by that point, they're ready for more responsibility and becoming more independent.

 

There are a few kids who seem to stay in that "Little kid" stage longer. In DD's case, she has pretty much made a conscious choice NOT to be a pre-teen. She's a lot more Paddington Bear than Hunger Games, for example, and if she has a choice between girls her age mooning over boys and 4 yr olds playing princess, she'll pick up a wand and go play with the preschoolers.

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

A woman I lead an activity with considers my DD one of the "little kids" in our group, and it annoys me more than it should. Though I think of her as my baby, I don't see her as a little kid anymore. I think the woman underestimates what DD and others in the group who are her age are capable of, and I think they're more sophisticated than she assumes. She seems to feel a need to keep things we plan as simple for the kids as possible and have the adults take charge of everything, whereas I think the kids can handle more responsibility. I think we should encourage them to take more ownership and be more directly involved in the planning and implementation of our club activities—especially when they take the initiative and express an interest in doing so. I'm not talking about anything potentially dangerous or age-inappropriate. The current issue is a skit or talent show number. A few of the kids had a good idea, IMO, but the other leader shot it down immediately because she thinks they're too little to pull it off. I acknowledge that's possible, and it will be more of a challenge for some kids than others, but I don't see any reason they can't at least try before we pronounce them incapable of doing it. 

That makes sense to me.  Let them TRY.  They may learn a ton in the process and get to stretch their wings.

[OneStepAtATime]

I agree with others, it is individual.  DS10 was sort of born as a middle aged man.  He was worrying about being a good husband and father and his career and what college to go to and how to be a good citizen by the age of 4.  Physically, he is still young.  And as the youngest kid in the extended family he is still treated like the baby. It drives him nuts.  He was never really the little kid intellectually.

 

DD14 on the other hand...:)

[Word Nerd]

That makes sense to me.  Let them TRY.  They may learn a ton in the process and get to stretch their wings.

 

Exactly.

[stephanier.1765]

I think little kid is over at puberty and then kid until 18 or so.

[redsquirrel]

It really depends on the situation.

 

If my 9 year old asks me to get juice for him, I say 'try to pour it yourself and ask for help if you need it. You aren't a little kid any more'.  But, if we are out well past bedtime and he is starting to crack, I say "We have to get him home, he's tired and it's late and we are asking too much of him. He's just a little kid"

 

I definitely see the 8-12 years as the transition time between little kid and big kid. But they don't get big all at once.

[Tammyla]

I agree, it depends on the individual kid.

[Tsuga]

If I could really, truly, safely walk out of the house with a pot boiling on the gas stove and a baby crawling around,  and trust them to be perfectly fine?

 

Crap, I'm still a little kid.

 

[lovinmyboys]

I feel like around 7-8 they start transitioning away from little kid. I only have one that has reached those ages, but it seems like just recently he has been too old for little kid stuff. Before, the whole family could do little kid things. Now, some of our "little kid" activities are definitely on the young side for him (playing at the childrens edutainment center, the indoor sandbox, bubbles, the kiddie park, stickers, etc). Until 7-8 it seems like the littles things are exciting and they are so easily entertained. Age 7-8 was the first year I planned both big kid and little kid christmas activities.

[73349]

DS is not quite 7 and definitely still a little kid, although a large one. He would *say* he's a big kid, but I don't see him becoming "no longer a little kid" in spirit for another year or more. He just last week noticed that he is too old for Dora. However, some 7yos are not little kids.

 

My mother says I was born 35, so I guess I wasn't a little kid. :)