Guys.

50K reads?

Y'all are spoiling me.

Thank you so much for all the support! To every single reader, for every single commenter, and for every single voter... I say thank you! A bit of self-disclosure: as most of you know, I started this story with a dear friend of mine. She, unfortunately, left Wattpad very shortly after we started this (after the first three chapters were posted), and I wasn't sure if I wanted to even keep going or if it would even help anyone.

But there were a few people who were so invested, who made me cackle with some of their amazing comments, and I just didn't have the heart to stop.

And now we're here. At 50K reads. Sure, it's not a million--but I'm still gobsmacked.

So... thank you! To old readers and new readers. I appreciate every single one of you.

Anyways.

Kids.

One thing I have learnt after reviewing on Wattpad is that even if the author is a kid, they don't necessarily know how to write kids.

Like. Seriously.

I have seen twelve-year-olds driving cars with no issues from parents/police.

I have seen six-year-olds rob banks.

I have seen toddlers say things like, "I would like tap water over sparkling water, please."

Which wasn't so bad, until the toddler added:

"Ugh. I cannot believe the service here. Why are they serving us water when they could be serving us the subtropical flavours of guava juice?"

So, in this chapter, I'm going to be using two hats. The first hat I'm going to put on is my 'writer' hat, where I will just talk about some general tips when it comes to writing children. Then, you can all see the psychologist hat for the first time, as I go through what each age range is like in terms of development.

Of course, some kids will always be exceptions. So much of it depends on upbringing.

Sure, a nine-year-old may be able to speak fluent English. But what if that nine-year-old grew up around penguins instead of humans? Would that be the same?

Anyways. Let's go through some tips first.

Writing hats on!

Here are some common misconceptions:

All children are unreasonable and irrational.

Children are incapable of understanding the world.

Children can't care for themselves, no matter their age.

Children are stupid.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Sure, you've seen a kid have a breakdown because their balloon flew away. Or you've seen kids try to bite their toes. Or you've seen them try to drink their own pee.

Heck, we've probably been those kids!

The thing is--kids are curious. It's all about experimenting. And when they are being 'unreasonable and irrational' and crying over small things, that's usually because they're experiencing something where they have either had that response modelled to them, or because it's a novel experience for them so they don't have many experiences to help them decide alternate ways to respond.

And crying is an evolutionary weapon! Don't forget that!

Children are processing millions of things for the first time, and that can be overwhelming. They definitely do dumb things all the time, but that doesn't mean that they are dumb. It's simply them experimenting, or not knowing what they are doing is dumb. Also worth mentioning that their brains are still developing and understanding the concept of 'consequences'. We'll come back to this!

The other myth, on the flip-side:

All children are cute and innocent, without exception.

No.

They can be ratbags. But, more importantly, not all kids are adorable and cuddly for everyone! Whether it's the adult who cannot stand kids, or whether the kid themselves is a snotty, screaming mess... not all kids have to be cute!

So when you choose to write your kid, consider these. Is your kid cute because you think all kids have to be cute, or is it a purposeful choice? Is your kid making dumb choices because you think all kids will make that same decision, or is it a purposeful choice that fits their character?

Purpose.

Find it.

The coolest thing about writing kids is that you have first-hand experience being kids. Some of y'all are still kids (if not in age, at least, in heart). Some of us were kids only a few years ago. Some of us were kids a long time ago, but can probably remember all the middle-school drama, the first crushes, the embarrassing stories, the first hobbies, the best friends, the bad teachers... I mean, I can remember it all clearly! Granted, I'm in my very early 20s, but I assure you, I still want to cringe and curl up in an undersized hole when I remember some of the things I said and did when I was younger.

So consider your experiences. Consider what your personality was like when you were younger.

And consider your friends when you were that age--what were they like? Every single friend of mind, even in Grade 1, was so incredibly different. My closest friend was a literal Disney Princess (she went on to win Miss Pacific Islands, go figure), another friend of mine once threatened me with a knife, another friend of mine was very shy and quiet, another friend was really rude to other people--the full shebang!

If you know kids, think about the way they think and behave. Consider their perspectives, and notice how every kid is so distinctly different in how they respond to situations. Think about their upbringing, their friend dynamics, and how you feel about them, too!

It is important to remember that, especially younger ones, children are seeing something for the first time. If they have a bad experience with a dog, and it's the first dog they meet, they are likely to generalise this fear towards all dogs. Similarly, if your child character does have a bad impression/good impression of a character, creature, setting, or event, it is important to consider how, exactly, you will make them shake off this impression. Studies have shown that children with siblings, actually, are more likely to consider alternate perspectives--same with children who read! Go figure!

Long story short, don't mistake their inexperience for unintelligence.

Kids have emotions! Surprise!

However, young ones particularly don't always really know how to respond to things. So they see how others respond. And respond accordingly.

Wow I'm getting very psychology heavy and not writing heavy in this section. Let me fix that.

Regardless of age, your character is a human. And all humans have the following: likes/dislikes, dreams/goals, curiosities, and fears.

Yes, even small children have goals when it comes to narratives. Sure, they may not be like, "I want to make my mum happy" consciously, but in the story, when an event happens, it is important to consider what their goals are in the context of this scene. Do they want comfort? Do they want answers?

Please. I beg you.

Kids are naturally quite adorable, it's true. But do not force the cuteness by having the children say "goo goo ga ga". It's cute if you have them occasionally mispronounce certain words, sure. But do not overdo it. It does become tedious, I pwomwise.

So, I see this in every story. Something bad happens. The older protagonists are feeling despair. And suddenly, the five year old rises.

"I know everyone is stressed because the volcano blew up and now there is lava all over our skin," the five-year-old said. "But we must stay positive and united as a force. It is the only way to stop our bones melting alive."

And I just sit there like... what?

Yes, I know, kids sometimes have the best quips and pieces of advice. They really do. I had a small child once tell me that she didn't mind that my laugh is loud; she said it means she won't be able to lose me in a crowd, because she just needs to make sure I laugh. It didn't really make a lot of sense to me because I didn't know how she was going to make me laugh if I was lost in a crowd, but it was still cute.

Another kid told me that he liked farting because it scared the monsters under his bed.

Kids and their eternal wisdom!

My point is that, it's true, kids do sometimes drop kernels of sagely, innocent advice that is just so inspirational. So it's fair enough if you want to include that!

But, please, for the love of all the monsters that are trapped under beds because of farts, make it realistic. Do not overdo it.

If you are writing kids, please know that the environment they grow up in is so freaking important.

Children learn by observation, modelling and experimentation. Children, regardless of age, are always in the process of having their prefrontal cortex develop; they don't really understand consequences just yet. So much of their behaviours is reactive to their upbringing.

So, if you are writing a kid, history is really important. Do they act a certain way because they are specifically trying not to act like their parents? Are they picking up rather aggressive tendencies from their parents? Are they spoilt because they get lots of attention at home? Are they scared to talk to people, because they feel quite neglected at home and feel nothing they have to say is worth saying?

You really have to think about their upbringing and history when writing kids. By the time they reach adulthood, they have a plethora of environments and people to shape their thoughts/behaviours. Kids, on the other hand, have limited environments, and so the way they are brought up has a big impact on them.

If you want to write kids well, read other books with kids in it. See what you like. See what you didn't like.

And practise it in your own writing.

- Not much at all, really. Some babies cry a lot, while others are silent. Some sleep well, others don't. It's a bit of a mixed bag.

- There's a lot going on for them. They need a lot of naps.

- Pretty self-centred. There is not that much empathy there, however, they very much watch other people's reactions (especially parents). If their parents show lots of empathy, they are likely to also try to mimic that empathy.

- Their world is framed by their experiences, and they don't have many alternate perspectives to challenge their first experiences. So their first impressions will matter.

- Their vocabulary will be strongly influenced by others around them.

- They will be asking a lot of why questions.

- Excellent at reading facial cues. If people around them are happy, they are relaxed. If they are around angry people, they are more likely to be scared and defensive.

- They avoid people who look unfamiliar and/or angry, and they are more likely to assume trust with people who look more like their parents.

- Very cautious in new areas.

- Attachment styles start to come into play. There are three 'main' ones: anxious-avoidant (me!), anxious-ambivalent, and secure. Anxious ambivalent comes from inconsistent parenting, and usually leads to kids who have a strong fear of abandonment, and demonstrate clinginess. Anxious avoidant comes from limited affection, and leads to minimal emotion being shown from the baby. Secure attachment styles come from consistent parenting and a good amount of affection, and leads to kids who demonstrate full ranges of emotion without being clingy or overly distressed.

- Lots of trust in people. They will believe in the Easter Bunny and Santa.

- They still don't really get complex sentences.

- They really start to have an emphasis on stories and jokes.

- They start vocalising opinions.

- They will begin challenging parents' rules; they have not necessarily outgrown tantrums.

- They want to be more confident and independent, and will be a lot more shy getting affection from parents publicly.

- Hormones start happening! Some minor problems will be blown out of proportion for some of them.

- Some angry outbursts; when writing your character, you have to decide whether this is a kid having an angry outburst because they feel the world is being unfair to them, or if it is genuine sadism because you want them to grow into a villain.

- They will develop obsessions over things!

- They start sounding more like adults. Not scholars, necessarily. But their language will be developed for conversational purposes.

- Most will become very interested in dating, romance, and rebellion.

- Not adults yet, but can be very intelligent.

- Teenagers generally are under a LOT of pressure. High school, friends going everywhere, families acting out, exams, needing to decide a future... it's where mental health can be quite a big thing for them, and they need lots of support regardless. Do they accept support? Well.

- The part of their brain that's all about taking risks and getting adrenaline rushes tends to grow faster than the prefrontal part that is about examining and understanding consequences; they are more likely to engage in risky behaviour.

- Some flourish and thrive here. It is the peak of life for them because of popularity or they love education etc.

- While they mostly sound like adults, they can say immature things.

- They'll still have obsessions generally, whether it's about bicycles, cars, their weight, shows, actors, their hobbies, etc.

THE BIGGEST THING TO REMEMBER regardless of what age group you are writing is that all kids are very different. List down five kids you remember from school. Think about how different they all were. Some kids are naturally more mature (usually if they have younger siblings!). Some tend to be... really weird. I'm thinking about the kid who stabbed my friend with a pencil. Yikes.

But yeah! Each kid is different! There is no 'correct' kid character. Just stick to some of the general suggestions here, and you should be good to go!

I'm happy to answer any questions and of you have--especially if it concerns mental health, because that's where I work!

And once again, thank you so much for all the reads! My heart is so full because of all of you. To those people who give this story shout-outs and tag your friends to help them with things they are stuck on... I see you. And I appreciate you so much.

See y'all soon!