Who Said Kids Are Dumb?

[Lilias]

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? (Written by kids)

(1) You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
- Alan, age 10

(2) No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
- Kristen, age 10


WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET  MARRIED?

(1) Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
- Camille, age 10

(2) No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.
- Freddie, age 6 (very wise for his age)


HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

(1) You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
- Derrick, age 8


WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MUM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

(1) Both don't want any more kids.
- Lori, age 8


WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

(1) Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure?)

(2) On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
- Martin, age 10 (who says boys do not have brains?)


WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

(1) I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
- Craig, age 9


WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

(1) When they're rich.
- Pam, age 7

(2) The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
- Curt, age 7 (good point)

(3) The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.
- Howard, age 8


IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

(1) It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)


HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

(1) There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
- Kelvin, age 8


And the #1 Favourite is........


HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

(1) Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
- Ricky, age 10

[Inkidu]

Like a truck! XD

[Talia]

How funny! Some are quite smart!

[Rhapsody]

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

(1) You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
- Derrick, age 8

Best. Answer. EVER.

[Yakkul]

(1) Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
- Camille, age 10

scarily, I'm about the same number of years past 23 that she is before it... and it really does seem like "forever" ago...  :-\

Have to agree with Rhapsody though, Derrick's answer was the best, and the only one that made me laugh out loud!

[Caeli]

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
(1) Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure?)

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
(1) It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

These two are hilarious. xD

[Paradox]

Was this edited? I sure hope so; otherwise, those kids across the water have incredibly higher English-writing skills than ours in America.

[Saerrael]

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

(1) When they're rich.
- Pam, age 7

Mwuahahahah!

[consortium11]

Was this edited? I sure hope so; otherwise, those kids across the water have incredibly higher English-writing skills than ours in America.

A quick google couldn't find an original source for the quotes, but I'd assume from the "chips and dips" line the kids are from the US... it's not a phrase normally used in the UK.

[Oniya]

It might have been transcribed from audio, in which case the transcriptionist might have taken liberties in the interest of comprehension.

[Beguile's Mistress]

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

(1) There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
- Kelvin, age 8

Considering that he came up with that answer, I'd love to hear him explain it!

Like a truck! XD

[Paradox]

Hmm. I suppose my point was that I work with kids around this age three days a week, and I've never heard them use language like

(1) You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
- Derrick, age 8

I'm probably just reading too much into it and ignoring the humorous aspect, so I'll shut up and laugh along with the rest of y'all  :P

[Lilias]

If we went for the cinéma vérité approach, it would probably look somewhat like this:

[Mathim]

It's so sad that most of them sound like they have a horrifically conservative religious upbringing.

[Oniya]

Howard ('it's the right thing to do') and Kristen ('God decides it') look like they might be in that boat.  The rest seem to be in the stage where either the opposite sex is 'icky' ('Boys need someone to clean up after them.' 'Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.') or the child being asked is self-serving ('WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?  (1) I'd run home and play dead.'  'WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE? (1) When they're rich.')

[darkvamplips]

I can't believe some kids said that and under 10 years old. They are very smart for the age. The last one look like a truck made me happy.

[Mnemaxa]

My 6 year old nephew corrected his teacher on the correct spelling of "anthropologist".  It wasn't a spelling test, she was discussing anthropology and wrote the word incorrectly on the blackboard.  There really are smart kids in America.  Just have to kind of dig to find them.

[Oniya]

* Oniya has one.  8-)

In third grade, she's just starting multiplication in class, and she already knows her tables.  A couple take her a few seconds as she runs through them, but I beamed when she said 'Now we're getting into the easy part!'

[Sarena]

(1) Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
- Camille, age 10

scarily, I'm about the same number of years past 23 that she is before it... and it really does seem like "forever" ago...  :-\

Have to agree with Rhapsody though, Derrick's answer was the best, and the only one that made me laugh out loud!

I'm right there with you, Yakkul, just turned ten years past 23 a week ago Saturday...and realize my oldest friend has been my friend for 18 years...and it does seem like forever.

(1) You might have to guess, based on whether they seem  to be yelling at the same kids.
- Derrick, age 8

Best answer, hands down.  And I have a 6 year old and a 9 year old and they do use language like this.  :)

[Inkidu]

Children are absolutely, incredibly smart. They just don't have the knowledge base us grown-ups do to make those annoying "physically law-Abiding answers". I like their way of thinking better.

[somdgirl]

Children are absolutely, incredibly smart. They just don't have the knowledge base us grown-ups do to make those annoying "physically law-Abiding answers". I like their way of thinking better.

You said it perfectly.

[Vandren]

Lilias, sadly, that looks like some in-class assignments I get . . . from students aged 18 to 50-something.  Although the handwriting is much neater than I'm used to seeing.

My 6 year old nephew corrected his teacher on the correct spelling of "anthropologist".  It wasn't a spelling test, she was discussing anthropology and wrote the word incorrectly on the blackboard.  There really are smart kids in America.  Just have to kind of dig to find them.

It doesn't help that Education majors have the lowest average GPA and GRE scores of any field of study (no offense to K-12 teachers, many are friends and family of mine and are vastly overworked and underpaid).*

* = Source: the GRE results averages in every testing area breakdown by major (sent out with each participant's results)

[Paladin]

Heres how it goes folks. Children are incredibly smart. Unfortunatly they are also smart enough to dumb it down when your looking so that you don't realize JUST how smart they really are. I'm a great example of that. As a 5 year old I had a 12th grade reading level. I was reading Anne Mccafrey books when most kids were still reading Hop on Pop. Course I will admit I have a dumb area of my brain and thats the math region. I still struggle with it today. Have struggled with it my entire life. So the mext time your kid smiles and you see that twinkle in their eye... they may just actually be plotting to rule the world.