When I was a kid, I had a T-shirt that I wore to death with the words KIDS ARE PEOPLE, TOO! emblazoned across the front in scrawly kids’ writing.
At the time, there was a popular TV variety show of the same name (check out the cheesy theme song, disco moves and trampoline KISS kicks), but for me, it was the message behind the words that really rang true.
From about the time I was 9 and had some independence, I found myself outraged by the way some adults treated kids—as if we had nothing relevant to say, as if we should shut up in restaurants and stores, as if our opinions didn’t matter. I hated that when my friends and I collected our pennies and other coins, hopped on our banana-seat bikes and headed to the corner store, the store owner treated us like we weren’t legit customers. He’d eye us as if suspecting we were planning to pocket the penny candy instead of pay for it, then hustle us out once we’d made our choices. Continue reading
