who here finds that children treat them with disdain?

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children in general, don't treat me like an adult, they treat me like their pesky little brother, or like i creep them out. anybody else here who is an adult, esp. an older adult, find that kids treat you like you are just another odd kid?

Kids like me. They sense that the respect is mutual which makes them want to listen without me having to be a stern grownup.

you cut me to the quick i am NEVER "stern" with children. awkward, yes, but never an ahole with them.

Generally I don't have much to do with kids.

A couple of decades ago, there were some kids in the neighborhood who harassed me until I confronted their parents with an insinuated threat of legal action and/or their families moved away. Also there were some kids who seemed to like hanging around a particular corner store and harassing passers-by.

These days the kids in the neighborhood seem to be much better behaved.

I've always had a good rapport with children, and especially adolescents and teens.

^^^i wish i had your magic touch.

i'm finding that i'm getting along with them better as i get older, and as my cousins have their own

the older i get the more awkward i seem to be getting and the more i need to be a hermit.

I get along well with children, of all ages. I have difficulty with kids ages about 1-2 years, because they get into a lot and trying to keep them away from harm tends to overstimulate me, they still like me. But, I like them too.

Usually, kids like me. And usually, I like them back. It's always been like this for me.
Apparently I have a soft spot for them despite not desiring any kid of my own, nor desiring a possible kid-sibling, nor any kid-family, nor any company of any sort. And apparently, I've inherited this trait from my dad.


Funny thing is, I almost never felt awkward towards children -- except maybe whenever worrying about them. I don't have much of a maternal instinct myself.

If anything; I'm either just another odd kid at worst, an overgrown playmate, some big sister or an overgrown friend substitute, a second thing for an aunt at best -- or any combination of these.
Or perhaps it's just a part of me, who's been a bit guilty about her already long time failed role as an elder sister...

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Other people's children are disrespectful to me until just before their birthdays or Christmas, when they start calling me 'sir' and doing chores for me.  Afterward, I may as well be a lamp with a burned-out bulb -- put in a corner and referred to as 'dim'.

As far as I can tell, children ignore me for much the same reason I ignored my elders. I don't try to interact with them, because the mothers are frequently very paranoid about men. However, I remember sheltering from a cloudburst with a few pre-schoolers and their attendant. She kept trying to get the kids to respond to something and failing, and each time, I'd then succeed and glance over at her to say "try again."

I have been asked if i was "a kid too" before..

I'm not very good around little kids. When I was younger I used to volunteer at a preschool with children aged 2-4, and interacting with them felt awkward for me. I had trouble being stern with them, and often found myself in the corner biting my nails and not knowing what to do or to say. So I ended up just doing odd jobs around the nursery, like washing the dishes or sharpening pencils.

I don't tend to interact with children much. There was a young girl who pushed in front of everyone in a line I was in for a water-slide once, she yelled "I'm more important than you!" and barged through. However, that was simply aimed at everyone rather than just me.

When children are walking along with a parent/their parents they tend to be polite to me. Usually the parent tells the child to "let the young lady through" or to apologise to me, and sometimes the parent does so if the child is blocking my path.

On a few occasions I've walked around inside a shop and unintentionally acquired a confused toddler. In one situation I felt a small pull on my jeans and looked down to see a toddler who had attached itself to me. So I walked around the shop trying to find the child's mother. Thankfully it didn't take long and she apologised then put them in a pram.

I used to see my cousin a little more often when he was younger. He's ten now. Anyway, he never treated me with disdain. Except one time when he called me a wuss. Usually we got on alright, he tended to play independently but sometimes he'd get me to pretend to be an evil spy or show me a project he'd been working on.

A few times I've had kids ask me "what's with your face?" since I have a faint scar. This tends to be out of pure curiosity rather than trying to be rude. However, most people don't tend to notice, you have to either be fairly close to me and/or quite perceptive. When I have a tan it stands out a bit more. If a kid is quite young, then I don't go into the gory details when telling them how it happened. However, if they are a bit older then I'll ask them if they want to know all the details or not. I'm almost always asked for the story when someone notices the scar. Sometimes I've known people for years who suddenly notice, and others either never do or just don't say anything.

However, teenagers on the other hand...they've shown me disdain before. I annoyed a seventeen year old at one point since I got certain video games mixed up. Also, I've agitated teenagers before by using outdated internet jokes. I'd say I'm no longer cool, but I don't think I ever was.