Like many prejudices, adultism is deeply ingrained in our culture but how can we recognise and stop adultist biases from limiting our young people?
What is adultism?
“Adultism is a bias or prejudice against children or youth.”
And it comes in many forms. From stepping in when a young person is doing something you think they aren’t capable of, to discounting their views, opinions and feelings as less important, adultism discriminates against young people purely on the basis of their age.
Examples of adultism
There are five key ways adultism plays out:
- Rescuing when it’s not needed. This is when adults will step in to ‘help’ or take over tasks, activities or decisions based on an assumption that the young people aren’t capable due to their age, rather than providing the support and guidance they need to learn and succeed.
- Blaming the young person. This is when issues are blamed on the individual due to their age rather than looking at the underlying causes. For example, if a young person is often late for school it is assumed they are lazy because ‘young people can’t get up in the morning’ rather than understanding if there are issues or pressures at home which are causing the lateness, such as caring responsibilities.
- Avoiding understanding. This is when adults do not take the time to understand the needs and realities of young people because ‘they know better’. Adultism in this form can mean programs for young people are developed which don’t meet their needs and are based on incorrect assumptions about them.
- Blindness to age. Similarly to ‘colour-blindness’ undermining the impact of racism, ignoring the differences experienced by young people and treating them either like adults or children can prevent them from being able to contribute effectively with the appropriate support and guidance. For example, bringing young people into an adult environment (eg. a board meeting to represent young people’) without appropriate support and guidance sets them up to fail.
- Denial of adultism. Denying the impact of adultism on the experiences of young people ignores the damage it does and allows it to continue unchallenged. It also makes it less likely a young person will speak up and ask for help.
Impacts of adultism
Adultism has a number of negative impacts on young people and their ability to reach their full potential. It can:
- Undermine a young person’s confidence in themselves, both in their skills and opinions,
- Stop them seeking help because their problems and experiences aren’t seen as ‘real’ or valid, and
- Lead to mental health issues developing.
It also negatively impacts society. When young people are constantly quieted, society doesn’t hear their new and innovative ideas and approaches. It can also stop young people developing and practicing the leadership skills they need to drive societal change.
How to empower young people
The first step is to recognise your own biases. Unlike other forms of discrimination, adultism is still deeply embedded in our cultural norms and you may be unaware you are demonstrating adultist behaviours in your interactions. These unconscious biases are hard to break until you become aware of them.
Once you are aware of your own biases, you can take action by encouraging genuine youth engagement in decisions affecting them, whether as a parent, teacher or any situation where you are interacting with young people:
- Genuinely listening
- Educating yourself and others
- Enabling young people to lead
Be clear on how and when young people are able to influence decisions about themselves, and, in situations where they aren’t able to, be clear about why.
Raising confident, empowered young people and resilient communities is the cornerstone of Raise youth mentoring.
If you would like to contribute to changing the lives of young people, find out more about volunteering to mentor.
