Question about being Child-like

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Apart from the majority of people at Uni who apparently think I'm weird, there are a few people who commented that I was "cute" or "funny" in certain situations.

I think it's our tendency to be very honest/blunt which is regarded as a child-like quality, coz NTs when growing up seem to filter what they say and say what they mean in an indirect/vague manner in the attempt to "promote social cohesion" and "avoid offending the other person".

That's an excellent point. NTs naturally develop a social-common-sense filter. I never developed one - or maybe I should say I have but it's taken decades, a painfully slow process. In my 40s my filter is nowhere near as good as a typical NT's filter at age 15! (Laugh or cry, may as well laugh about it.)

Carl

I am just the opposite. When I was young people thought I was older than I was. I realize now that it was because I was "socially aloof".

Now that I'm older and complaining about having no social life, my counselors & therapists advise me to allow my inner-child to play more. I have to force myself to do spontaneous, silly, playful things.

This is what I do as well....
Whenever I hang out around children, I instantly become one. I am very good at connecting with and bonding with children...much moreso than with adults....ages 3-7 are the best....Whenever I hang out with my partner's family, I am ignored by the adults and adored by the kids...which is fine by me...the reason the adults ignore me is because we can't relate to each other...The kids like me because we can...
I am a horrible influence...I was playing chase with Flakey's 3-year-old nephew...when there is supposed to be no running in the house...I also sat on the floor with him and we talked about his different presents and about different stuff, when otherwise he would have just been ignored except for commands from the authoritarian adults...
I enjoy paying attention to kids and being a non-authoritarian bigger person...I relate to the confusion kids must experience...
One brief job I really enjoyed was Montessori assistant...I was too much of a non-conformist for the place though...I got in trouble for bringing my own childrens' books from home..because the books they did have were old and boring and unstimulating.... I walked out after the director angrily demanded that I sit like an adult and look her in the eye.

I start getting confused with kids who are a little older..I like it when older kids are not totally jaded to stuff like singing and ukulele playing and hand-made toys...and are not completely taken over by plastic dolls and electronics...

I am child-like in many ways. But being child-like can have it's downsides it's not all toys and cartoons. Screaming tantrums, emotional immaturity and having other girls my age treat me younger or atleast it feels that way.
I sometimes wish I could just grow up right now to atleast 15 and not 12/13.

Edit: poopylungstuffing, I relate to all your posts we may aswell be long lost twins

when i was 12, most people thought i acted really adult-like

now many years later, most people think I act really child-like.


the average person i talk to used to be born in 1987. now it's 1992.
does anyone else here feel the same?

I am very child-like when it comes to activities and hobbies. i play with toys and love stuffed animals. I love going to see kids movies. in fact I am going to see Disney on ice Finding Nemo on Monday. But when I talk and have conversations, I talk like I am the 31 year old, or older at times. My main interest is a very adult one, human anatomy and histology(study of tissues). I am highly independent and love to study. Pretty much, I am mature intellectually and mentally, but I am immature somewhat emotionally, activity wise, and just lots of fun. Oh Yeah, even socially because though I have adult like conversations, I tend to be logical and have no understanding or ability to understand emotional ones. Plus, i have trouble with non-verbal communication.

I think a lot of adults are 'child like'.

Sometimes we are children at heart, meaning we enjoy fun things like kids do, we play with toys and like cartoons and fun.

Sometimes 'child like' means naive; we think all people are basically 'good' and so get taken advantage of; people steal from us or use us without us realizing that is what's happening.

Most adults are child like in that we enjoy playing with kids, having fun with kids, we can appreciate the joy in a new toy or gadget - but at the same time we are capable of independent living. We pay the bills and show up at work and make sure our home is functioning and our children are well.

There are a lot of interpretations of the words "child like".
Most of them aren't bad.

As a childlike person, I can't help but to think that childlike people get a bad rap, within society and their own families.

This reminds me of an article I read. They were talking about how in US culture (generally, not autism specific) it's taking longer now for people to mature. The flip side - something I still don't quite understand- was that kids want to become adults sooner. So the lines are blurring and it's becoming more of a gray area to tell when a kid becomes an adult.

thanks!!

I agree that there is definitely a downside...
getting patronized by people..having people think that your are pretending to be the way you are..
I don't like having tantrums...
I don't like the fact that I am easily deceived...
Many people feel the need to speak to me as though I am a child...even though it really pertains to how I communicate...there is a lot more going on beneath the surface that I am not able to communicate....
then again..there seems to be a lot about NT adult complexity that I may never really understand...

I asked my psych is being child-like was with Autism and/or Aspergers. Because when she suggested I had it, and having people say how child-like I am and relate more with the younger crowd I thought I would asked. She said that it can be a traits with Autism and/or Aspergers. I have some friends who are NT's and act childish and joke around but it's not like how I am and stuff, they do it to be funny or something like that.

I get overwhelmed with a lot of respsoniblities, I hate fighting when someone is about to start an arguement I freak out and I walk away. I notice my mom or family does that mainly the older adults. I noticed and people told me I wander a lot. I always play with kid toys, watch kid movies, talk "baby" talk or kid language, I cry when I do something wrong or think, I have had a few yelling tantrums. I was never into the teenager ways or now the young adult, for drinking, drugs, partying, clubs. I don't like that. I did try alcohol because my friends did it but never again. I kind of just drank it like a drink reallly didn't understand it all. I always have people treat my like a child from how I act.

I actually hate cartoons. I am 20 but act younger. I get distracted easily and go to where I am or just get into the zone of the distraction.

I also have trouble descibing how I feel or what I am trying to describe either I can't it out or don't have the words to describe what I am trying to say.

For me I always say mommy, wuv ( i wuv you), bye byes, stuff like that people say are child-like. I never even knew what child-like was, or that I did it till people pointed it out. I like who I am.

I am in my mid 40's and sometimes wish the same thing. I am emotionally immature and enjoy child like things. My office at work has a lot of toys that I play with and TV in my office is often playing cartoons while I work. My coworkers and the people who work for me don't mind my eccentricities because I am really good at my job. They treat me like a kid socially and as a subject expert professionally. They help me deal with things that happen outside of work by giving me advice. Outside of work am not as insulated and protected, and sometimes I can really feel the differences. My house is also full of toys and books.

I'm still into many of the same things I was into as a kid...but as I've mentioned many times, on sort of a more thorough, mature level.

When I was a kid, I just watched a show, thought it was cool, brought my toys in while I watched the cartoons when the episodes featured those characters, and while I learned a little bit here and there, my knowledge was thoroughly limited.

Today, I'm not only focused on the show or the toy, but I love reading up on the companies, the product from before I was born, watching commercials from the time, watching commercials from before the time; just a million different things about it.

I confess that part of my desire to learn more is due to my chosen career path--ironically enough which a good chunk of involves though favorite past times of olden day, as I'm now an online toy retailer.

At the same time, I still get an enjoyment on an emotional level from watching a lot of it.

It just feels so awesome to watch commercials, cartoons, and read up on toys--for case studies for my own business.

I mean, if I were to tell most little kids who love their toys what I do, they'd be enraged with jealousy, and likely start crying that they're still stuck in school or something. Ok, maybe that would've just been me

Yup, I have a very childlike view of the world - love playing with toys, love visiting zoos and caring for animals etc. I'm not sure my emotional age ever got beyond about 8 yrs old.

I mostly regress to a child-like state in dealing with animals. I like playing with cats, dogs, etc., and they don't mind if I talk to them in my childish all-squeaky falsetto voice, using my invented "animal-language". I say: "Does the wittle doggo like her wittle bosso?" My dog sort of says: "I don't know what the h*ck you're saying, but it sounds interesting," but after a while gets bored and goes on sleeping. It gives me great comfort to communicate now and then to simpler souls.

Anybody else have this?