Kids seem to be trying more and more to act older than they are, while teens seem to be trying to be younger.  This seems to be because of the simple fact that no one is happy where they currently are, and they want to blame something for that, and, in this case, they blame age. 

  When kids act older than they are (or try), they want to be independent, and they want to be cool like they see on tv. They see “teens” in movies and shows that are actually 20 years or older actors that look far better than an average teenager in real life, and they want to be like that. They know that high schoolers can go out and do what they want (to a point), and they want  that freedom. 

  Clothing companies also like to take advantage of this situation. They’ve seen changing attitudes in children, and started selling clothes that go along with this belief. They market clothes that look more mature to younger children, knowing that they’ll want to get those clothes. 

  On the other hand, teens seem to be acting younger – in a survey of 71 students, 83% said they had noticed teens trying to act more like kids. There are high schoolers who still enjoy plushies, and Hello Kitty, and things generally geared towards children. I think it’s just because they don’t want to be adults, because being an adult means responsibility and making money and figuring out how taxes work. It’s scary, so some teens just want to cling to childhood and pretend they’re not barrelling towards a nine to five. 

  Unfortunately for all of us, none of this helps. Dressing like an adult doesn’t make a kid older, and still liking kid stuff doesn’t make a teen more of a child. We’re all aging at the same rate, and we all have to deal with that. I recommend making the most of it. 

  Just like no one will be a kid ever again, no one will be a teen ever again, and in a few years we might be regretting not doing enough with our time as a teen. And, yes, this also means getting ready to be an adult, because if we don’t do that now, we’ll be adults not making the most of our time as adults because we don’t know how adult responsibility works. 

  Clinging to the past too much just drags people back, and clinging to the future too much wastes the present. There’s a balance between enjoying the past, preparing for the future, and making the most of the present, and it would do a lot of people a lot of good to find it.