" First off, I call them " children" , not " kids" . I am a child, and I am not ashamed to be one; time will cure this unfortunate condition. " Kid" is the cutesy name adults call children, because they think " child" sounds too scientific and clinical. I refuse to call myself by their idiotic pet name. Your grandmother might call you " Snugglepants Lovebotton" , but that's not how you introduce yourself to strangers. I also refuse to use terms like " teen" , " tween" , and etc. I find them patronizing and putrid. They are fake words, used to disguise the truth--that anyone under the age of eighteen is legally (and that's the only thing that matters) a child. "