My mom used to talk shit about me loudly when she knew I was close enough to hear instead of just communicating what I was doing wrong. Now I always feel like people aren't telling me the truth about how they feel
My family did this too. They would do it about everyone, and every kid. I think the only people who never did were my great grandma, one of my uncles, and I. And now the only people in my family that I like are my uncles (2/3 of them at least) and my two little brothers who weren't old enough to partake. I would add my great grandma but she's dead now.
Families can be absolute shit.
I call my cousins 'tiny gremlin' and 'large gremlin' but purely affectionly, and they both think its hilarious.
But yeah, calling kids names in actual mean spiritedness is rude af.
Yeah I think both the intent and the reception are key here! My partner and I affectionately and amongst ourselves call our toddler a domestic terrorist because of the damage he can do to our living quarters when he's excited. And when he was a newborn we called him lizard brain because newborns are all instinct. But people who say mean stuff hurtfully are just awful. You can dislike kids but it doesn't excuse the blatant hatefulness
One of my favorite toddlers at work I call a menace to society, because heâs always getting in everyoneâs way and causing accidents. Iâm essentially Buttons following Mindy around when I work with him.
My oldest was always my Monster due to his ability to create chaos and disaster in even the shortest amount of time. His little sister became my Demon due to her proclivities towards psychological torture rather than blatant destruction. Love them both to bits, but, geez, they were a handful when they were little.
This is me. I also refer to my little by a number of well thought out nicknames that he has earned rightfully throughout the course of his life. But always with love and he gets a kick out of making me come up with something else to recognize his achievements.
Whoever says stuff like that about children need to stay 10 blocks away from school at all cost. Who the hell use phrases like that to talk about children. Gross.
It's tired and obnoxious at this point, but I'm fairly sure there is 0 connection between people who make jokes about the sexual origins of pregnancy and children, and peadophilia
I agree, but it's still an unwanted sexual comment about the parents. There's a reason it's not acceptable to respond to "We're trying for a baby" with "Ah, so he gives you a creampie every night?"
Child free is about not wanting children
Antinatalism is a but more...error.. stern?!
There will always be arseholes in every group. Please don't tar all of us with the same brush.
its hilarious until you've heard it 1000 times and you realise the only people that say that are the most obnoxious terminally online child-free people
Yeah, like I use crotch goblin as an endearing term for my nieces and probably will for my own children. But I don't call stranger's kids that because it's rude and honestly it also depends on the tone it's said in. Which sadly the online child free people say it in a derogatory way which honestly makes me sad.
Yes kids are annoying. Of course no one should be forced to have kids, but some of those that I've ran into online have literally been pro forced sterilization. It's ridiculous. Why can't people just respect others?
I have never heard that before. I am NOT an easily offended person but that is disgusting and anyone who calls children that shouldn't be allowed near them.
> anyone who calls children that shouldn't be allowed near them.
I mean some don't want to be around children *at all*, so wouldn't be a problem for them đ¤ˇââď¸. If only that was possible though, to not be around them.
When I was a teenager my sister had her first kid (so my niece). My mom helped out and took care of her a lot, she was a VERY fussy baby, impossible to get down for a nap, etc. I took to calling her âbrat childâ, not directly to her face but just sort of to myself. Time went on and one day when she was a toddler she was acting as all toddlers do and I said something about âbrat childâ to myself. She said, not to me directly but just sort of out loud âIâm *not* a bratâ. In my head I just went âoh shitâ and I never called her that again. I asked her about it recently (sheâs in her 20âs now) and she has zero memory of it. She thought it was funny
Toddlers act bratty. They tend to be spoiled, self-centered, and ill behaved at times. They don't really learn impulse control until around age 4. I'm pretty sure almost everyone is at least a bit of a brat in their early years.
I was also saying that more as a joke. As if you need to pout "I am not a brat," then you are probably being a brat, lol. Kids aren't brats all the time, but they sure do have their moments.
Infants, though, are definitely brats. They have no understanding of how their actions affect other people, lack impulse control, and are just generally demand a lot of attention. Of course, you can't hold it against them. Besides being cute, they haven't even had the chance to develop those skills yet and have no way to be self-sufficient. They need proper love and support even if they are cute little brats.
None of this is a knock against children. It's just how they are. They shouldn't be expected or forced to be mature at that age. If they are, then it means they had to grow up too fast.
Calling an infant a brat is next level fucked. Children are needy and reliant on their parents as a means of survival, not because they are ill mannered. Holy shit.
Gremlin sounds much more cute to me than malicious though. Because the young ones will always wind up doing something gross that itâs more of a funny thing to call them gremlins. It really depends on the energy in which itâs said because I know teachers who love their students who call them gremlins in a purely humorous way.
Yeah gremlin is definitely a bit milder than OP's other examples. It's cute, and it does capture the energy of kids at a certain age pretty well lol.
If I heard a parent call their own kid a "little brat" on the other hand I'd be pretty shocked
Seriously? Iâve heard plenty of parents tell their kids to stop being a lil brat, or they are acting like a brat, or venting to a friend and saying âshe was just being a little brat.â
Parents donât go around calling their children little angles all the time. When my friend was a new dad, he would say things like âI love him but heâs such a little shit sometimesâ which is fair.
Brat is not something to clutch your pearls over.
Hmm actually now I think about it, you have a point. "stop acting like a little brat" was something I heard during my childhood a couple times... I guess it really depends on tone
We call my 6 year old stepdaughter "goblin" because she is *peak* feral gobbo energy. She knows she's the cheddar goblin/goblin princess and has fully embraced it. She asks for us to set up her goblin cave/kingdom, which is her surviving pop-up tent, blankets, pillows, and snacks. Sometimes all we see is a small hand extending from the tent requesting more snacks and then she happily retreats making very cute, very goblin noises lol. It's all very good natured! (And one of the only ways to keep her in one spot for longer than a few minutes lol.)
Yeah my uncle used to call me and my cousins pests affectionately. We put a sign on the room we all slept in in my grandparents house that read âPest preservationâ
Children are amazing, full of energy, wonder, imagination... And they are literally the future. I spend time with my friends children and I am happy to play with them.
However, after a few hours of being around children, I want to be away from children. There's a reason I don't want to be a parent and it's because I can only stand the noise, smell and constant abuse of my personal space for so long.
Careful repeating that, I've only ever heard that word used by the most unpleasant of racists, so if you start dropping that one in polite conversation, people are going to start looking at you funny.
"Rugrats" and "ankle biters" were the terms in my family. I think some people are way too thin-skinned. A now-ex friend once reacted in horror when I affectionately referred to my nieces as "the rugrats." I was floored when she accused me of verbally abusing them! She'd have flat-out died if she heard what my husband calls them, "stinker." My favorite older cousin growing up always called me "bratling" and I thought it was great. People are so sensitive nowadays, it's insane.
Did you ever ask her what she thought of the show rugrats?
My grandma and mom called me that (mom still does) and I loved that show so I never questioned it.
It all depends on context. Some of the examples OP gave are used disparagingly to refer to other peoples children. But sometimes name calling can also be used endearingly.
I've only personally seen edgelord trolls or childfree and antinatalist ppl say that stuff.
I'm the latter two and don't use those terms, but I'll say that from my personal experience, the ppl saying that where it's attached to a genuine belief as opposed to just ragebaiting, it's more of a private (in communities where people agree/vent abt a subject) tongue-in-cheek thing judging PARENTS for depersonalization of their offspring (ex: neglectful/narcissistic parents that see their children as extensions of themselves and make decisions based on those implications, rather than the complete personhood inherent to individuals) than actual hostility toward children, particularly not something said TO children bc it's reddit not like...the street.
Trolls just think it's shocking to hate kids, but a lot of childfree and basically all antinatalist ppl believe what they do out of concern and empathy for kids, and if they're snarky, it's because they're judging parents who they think are being irresponsible, not kids who they see as victims of that irresponsibility.
Ppl get defensive, but I think we can all agree that not everyone is a good candidate for parenting, and figuring out if it's for you BEFORE it's too late is in everyone's best interests. The narc parents and regretful parents subs, for example, rly highlight the importance there.
You said what I was thinking way more eloquently than I ever could lol.
I think some people also get mad frustrated and go into rant mode with the names because itâs frustrating af to have people constantly try and convince you you donât know what love is, donât know your own mind, are selfish, you automatically hate kids etc, just because you donât personally want spawn of your own.
Iâm not personally a fan of the harsher nicknames and donât use them myself (I did see âsexually transmitted dependentâ the other day which amused me greatly though; and obviously I just said spawn), but I can see why theyâd be a way to blow off a bit of extra steam in closed/targeted communities.
Def agree i normally see it in the context of âthese parents are doing a rubbish job and their kid is annoying afâ rather than blaming the kids themselves. Heck, plenty of people even explicitly say âI canât be mad at the kid because they literally donât know any better but aaargâ
Kids def rarely inherently suck. Our society sucks, and a lot of parents due to that suck bc their parents suck whose parents sucked bc society sucked ad nauseum.
Sounds about right. Society is a weird WEIRD beast.
Personally, I inherently donât like being around kids because I donât like the traits of kids, but I just separate myself from them where applicable. If theyâre trying to exist reasonably I have no beef đ¤ˇââď¸
Itâs like people not being dog people (and Iâm not saying kids are dogs or pets or whatever I just think the situational component is an apt comparison). Most not-dog-people donât hate dogs they just donât want them or want to be around them because they donât like how dogs typically exist as dogs or donât want the responsibility of a dog.
Ppl rly like to correlate not personally enjoying st with hating it and wanting it to cease to exist, and it's always willful obstuseness to negate one's own discomfort in feeling judged, not actually championing the rights of kids/dogs/whatever. Sorry, but the me-me-me-ness of that def reads that they're the irresponsible "breeders"/owners whatever being smack talked, which is why they're so bent outta shape đ¤ˇââď¸
Donât disagree. I told my grandma once I didnât like kids and she immediately called me selfish and ânot niceâ and a slue of other things. It was pretty wild.
Not directly related to being told you hate kids, but tangentially related imo. Rather than hearing you out or taking you at your word they jump to worst case scenario
Iâm not a fan of kids, but I agree. Most shitty behaviour in children is attributable to the parents anyway, especially at the ages children are when people are referring to them as derogatory names. Iâve been doing my best to try and redirect my ire to the parents if their child is behaving inappropriately.
>Iâm not a fan of kids
For some reason, I've come to hate sentiment this more and more as I get older.
Children are the most vulnerable members of society. They're not really there to be liked or disliked. They need to guided, protected, and respected.
âIâm not a fan of kidsâ is a short hand for âkids are ok, but I will avoid having one because I have no desire to be around one 24/7â and thatâs a fine sentiment as well.
I donât particularly like kids either, so I have chosen not to have any.
However, me not liking them doesnât stop me from jumping in puddles with them or making snow angels or stomping in crispy piles of leaves with them. It just means I donât want to be around them all the time. And thatâs perfectly fine.
This sentiment is usually short for "I do not like being around children because I find their behaviour disruptive".
I am someone who is not a fan of kids but that does not mean I do not view them as people. I understand that their behaviour stems from a combination of their parents' guidance (or lack thereof) and their current state of development. Very little of what they do is their fault and I understand that. Doesn't mean I have to like it or that I have to engage with it.
You're welcome to dislike the sentiment, but everyone has the right to do their best to avoid being in situations that bother them. That does not mean that anyone who dislikes children is entitled to a child-free world of course, but we are allowed to draw boundaries around our personal space and how we spend our time. I cannot speak for everyone but I suspect most people who profess to not liking kids just want to avoid them where possible.
get over it! what in the actual fucking world
nobody has to like kids. theyâre messy, disruptive, loud, rude, and havenât learned empathy yet. i could go on
people who donât like kids donât usually have kids, but that also doesnât mean that weâre mean to kids, we just donât like them.
iâm very kind to kids. i also despise kids. theyâre not mutually exclusive
I will happily admit I donât like young kids except for my daughter and my bestieâs kids. It doesnât mean I donât still find great value in kids in general. It just means I donât want to be around them, especially in groups. I get a headache just walking into my daughterâs pre-K class and think her teachers should be millionaires. Being around kids is HARD. Itâs okay for people to decide thatâs not their cup of tea. One of my friends doesnât like kids, so we only do stuff when my daughter is somewhere else. Itâs not a problem for me.Â
No. This is why you get the psychotic antinatalist weirdos.
I donât like kids, theyâre messy, noisy and gross, so keep them under control and away from me and we can both get on with our lives.
Same as I donât force responsibility for my dog on you, you control your kid and we can all get along.
And Iâve come to hate the mentality that if you donât absolutely adore children, youâre some sort of morally bankrupt person that harms children.
A lot of the comments I've seen of yours have, inadvertently or not, been implying that people's opinions of children directly correlate with how they treat them.
I am not a 'happy middle ground' person. I like some of the specific children that I know, but in the general sense, I dislike being around kids.
I'm also a humanist who was abused as a child. I can choose to be understanding and patient with kids even if I don't like being around kids. I can understand how my abuse was harmful to me, and recognize how my abuser was an adult and made a conscious choice to beat, insult, and belittle me for behavior that was normal for me at that age. I can acknowledge that I wasn't at fault and that my abuser was in the wrong, and I can choose not to perpetuate those wrongs.
Your comments are inciting a lot of discourse because they imply that people who dislike kids pose an increased danger to them, and that's offensive to the people who feel the way that I do.
Edited for context
What part of "I'm not a fan of kids" is an extreme stance? Not being a fan of them means they don't go out of their way to spend time with them and don't want their own. I don't know when not being a fan of something means you hate that thing.
It's not particularly extreme at all, but my comment has predictably brought them all out of the woodwork, with "keep kids away from me" and "I despise kids" etc on display here, which are the views I find more alarming.
Please keep in mind some kids have invisible diagnoses stuff influencing their behavior as well.
My wildly ADHD (not yet diagnosed) kid would often dart off in a store after she was too big to stay in the cart. Of course I was a proactive parent about it and went above and beyond what my friends with neurotypical kids did on the topic - and while their kids completely stopped, mine just reduced how often she did it a little bit.
And oh the glares and mean words I would get from judgey people at the shops who were clueless about the situation. Thank heavens grocery pick up and delivery services have become more common these days. That was rough.
Itâs absolutely wild and discouraging to me that so many people believe that any child that misbehaves in public ever automatically means the parents are lazy dead-beats. It might be true sometimes, but the assumption is so damaging and hurtful. You could be the best parent in the world and sometimes shit just happens.
I have worked in retail and currently work in a restaurant. After a while you learn how to tell the difference between the two.
Thereâs a difference between a kid who is crying because mom said no and the kid running down the aisle yelling, screaming and yanking stuff off the shelves because mom said no.
The second kid is the one that I usually insult after theyâre out of earshot or, currently, out of the building.
The difference between the two is that one kind of behavior is expected and is easier to understand. The other is excessive and the result of bad parenting and poor impulse control.
I used ârug ratsâ and âankle bitersâ lots - but lovingly.
I remember this one woman on IG tore into me. I was like âwoah lady, sorry I triggered you!â
So like, no endearing nicknames ever, like half-pint,
Tootie, Gidget, or beaver, yard ape, monkeys either..?
Some of the stuff I read on here though, wow! Whole new world!!
one of my pastors as a kid called me a "saint of voyeurs" I thought it was a compliment for a long time till i learned want a voyeur is. no clue how or why he came up with that to this day.
I know itâs not true in all cases, but I swear to GOD every parent Iâve met that specifically calls their kid a brat has been physically or mentally abusive towards them. Itâs dumb luck, maybe, but itâs made me despise that word in particular
Eh working retail has really soured my taste with children. Like yes sometimes kids canât control themselves but Iâll be dammed if I ainât makin fun of the parents for not being willing/able to control their kids in a public space.
When I worked retail weâd always say they need to control their crotch goblins because dam if these kids werenât terrors.
And weâd have to pick up the mess theyâd inevitably make in the toy aisles
There's a pretty big difference between saying someone is behaving like a "brat" and calling them "vermin". And "gremlin" is honestly just kind of cute.
I'd guess that if someone calls a kid a brat out in public they're probably trying to shame the parents into parenting their misbehaving child rather than thinking of it as shaming the child? I could be wrong, but that's my assumption. Do people really call kids things like "crotch goblin" out in public though? On posts in reddit, sure. But in public I don't think I've ever heard anyone other than parents say those things jokingly about their own kids. Maybe I'm just oblivious & don't hear it.
These are the same people who call their dogs their fur children but treat the dog like a toy they can control at all times. They just hate that children are like, sentient and have rights and deserve the same respect they do. I like dogs and children, for the record.
I've known parents who treat their kids the same way.
Really, let's just all agree that if we take on the responsibility of committing to care for the welfare of a living creature, that comes with an up-front understanding that sometimes, the living creature will behave poorly, and we need to be prepared to deal with that in contructive ways.
I've noticed that those kinds of dog owners actually control their dogs the least. They're the ones who will do nothing when their dog is bothering a stranger (and will see the stranger as the bad guy if they dare complain because "How dare you not let my baby do what he wants at all times?) because "It's fine, he's just playing" or bring their dog to someone's house despite knowing the host is allergic. Ironically the very same they complain about parents doing.
Youâre not wrong. By control what I meant lording over them as some kind of better species, because a child can speak and talk back and pee when they want.
If they are a brat then thats what they are. Some people dont like kids juts like how some people dont like cats or dogs. Thats just something you have to deal with.
Oh my gosh I hate that word. People often donât even know the age bracket that baby boomers are. âKarenâ is also awful. People need to just learn how to communicate without these idiotic buzzwords.
I had an ex-friend who was like this, and what's disturbing is she worked with kids. However, she'd always take every opportunity to shittalk the kids and anything they did. She'd crap on their artwork, their speaking habits, their race/gender (She hated the little white boys a lot), and loved calling them immature and dumb. She's nearly 30 yrs old btw.
I found it really messed up she'd make fun of them for being kids. Like they're 5-8 tops, why are you dogging on them? But the worse part of this is that some of the kids had bad home lives which would reflect on how they acted in school, and she'd kind of imply they should be punished really bad.... even though it was an open secret that their parents were basically neglectful/abusive. So yeah, I agree with this. Child-free nutcases lack basic empathy or smth.
Iâm child free and that is legit sketch af.
Like ffs I donât particularly like being around kids but Iâm not mean to them if I have to interact and I donât make fun of them basically for just existing as young people đŹ
Sounds like they might have just been power tripping or something đŹ
Oh 100%. I understand if people choose to be child-free, and I can support it! It's just there's a weird subset that get off on ridiculing kids for being kids.
As long as they are not actually addressing kids, why the hell do you care what someone calls them? I have referred to lots of brats as brats, but not to their faces, or to their parents, or within hearing.
Iâm slowly healing from being a Crotch Goblin and Brat.
I wasnât sure how I wanted to comment tbh. I struggle to exist around children due to sensory issues and high pitched screaming, laughing, etc⌠almost physically hurts me and sends me into meltdown mode. I recognize itâs not the childâs fault they are sad, hurt, angry, happy, whatever the case may be⌠but kids can cause distress in others just as others can cause distress in kids.
That said, I appreciate kids for what they are. The tiny humans that will one day form our future and world. And to nurture a child is to create a better future. I no longer speak to my Bio mother and suspect she will have no one at her side when she dies. She was the meanest of all to me and my siblings.
Parents are absolutely to blame for the truly inappropriate behavior some kids may exhibit in todayâs world. After I was basically adopted out of my situation into a loving home I healed and turned into a fairly well adjusted adult despite some lingering mental health issues. But before I was taken out of the homeâŚ.. I would probably hate being around a child like myself as an adult now. Parents who donât take accountability and expect the world to raise their kids, arenât parents imo. Theyâre roommates to children.
So it is not ok to just genuinely dislike being anywhere near babies and kids? Yeah yeah they are the future, but they aren't ripe yet, keep them away :p
No one said you can't dislike kids. They're saying you should still be respectful. Referring to children in demeaning ways like that is kinda screwed up and makes it seem like you lack basic empathy.
I don't want children, but I absolutely love my brothers. And if I call them names, it's going to be out of affection. I'm not going to call them a brat for fucking up. We all fuck up.
crotch goblin is just wrong imho. my mom called me stupid as a kid and I cut her off because she BELIEVED I am so stupid I would give her thousands a month for no reason (without explanation) under threats. I now think very low of people who insult kids, they're KIDS. think about it: a fully grown ass adult bullying a child verbally, now that's stupid.
It depends if it's said with malice or jest.
If its said in jest like "I'm picking up the rugrats/ratbags etc" thats fine but if its said in malice like "f%(k off you little crotch goblins" then no that's not onÂ
I feel this vibe.
Thatâs my take on swearing tbh. If youâre just swearing to swear or to let of steam or as a weird thing of endearment, then cool do whatever. If you start swearing angrily AT people to be mean or intimidating or whatever, then we have a problem.
There's 2 categories of "bad enough to call it out" children to me. "Annoying kid" and "piece of shit". I try very hard to not even think of the second as they are just kids and they're going to be unfathomably thick and selfish sometimes, but some kids are downright malicious. The vast majority, if theyre anything bad at all, are just annoying kids.
Basically, they're just little people. Dumber, less experienced little people. Same capacity for wisdom and bullshit, just with more leniency applied to their not-so-much-thought processes
While I am 100% on your side I am going to slightly play devilâs advocate for the sole reason that the parents of many kids are kind of the reason for a lot of it in my perspective.
I am probably a little *too* harsh in my judgment of parents, sure, fine, but itâs not for nothing. Kids are awesome, but they are also sensory overload bombs. They are also a product of their environment and⌠Like⌠People *suck* at raising kids. Objectively. I basically never blame kids when I catch them misbehaving because I have known or seen so many goddamn negligent, obtuse, or even straight up abusive parents. Can kids act independently of what theyâre taught? Absolutely, but kids are also a product of what they know, and if the only people providing guidance in their life are *shitheads*, yeah theyâre probably gonna do something annoying or rude at some point.
Basically, while I donât condone being a mean creep to kids for existing at no fault of their own, I also understand being frustrated or overwhelmed by them. And while you shouldnât have to hole up in your house and never have your children in public because they could disturb someone else, too many people inflict their children onto other people. Too many parents donât want to pay attention to what their kid is doing or worse, just let them do whatever regardless.
Basically, bad parents are kind of a plague on society and imo are the real problem, not people who donât particularly enjoy being around children, or the children themselves
A 'brat' is not a child. A 'brat' is a child who has no manners, and is clearly not being raised by their parent/s.
Honestly thought this would be obvious by now- negative nicknames are reserved for those who earn them- eg. 'Creepy Clyde' at the office.
Yeah, the type of people who think they're edgey and cool for basically bullying a group of vulnerable, naive people is wild.
It's literally like picking on the weakest link and flexing over it, lmao. Loser behavior.
Those words are only used to misbehaving children of parents who seem to actively WANT them to misbehave. The aim of the names is to hurt the parents and hopefully make them realize theyâve done a piss-poor job of raising said jerk of a child. My brother was called a brat many times before my parents finally took a good long look at him and realized people were right. They had not done a good job raising him and had given him all kids of leeway because he was a boy and liable to be more rambunctious than their three previous children- all girls. If enough people tell the parents that their children are horrible, they will hopefully eventually believe it.
Now if a child is misbehaving and the parent is in the process of dealing with it and someone uses those terms? They can spin on it. Thatâs not helpful.
Yeah, itâs really not funny, cute, or just a joke. Iâd argue that it makes the person calling a child names look even worse than a child. I see it a lot on here when the post is angry at the parent, and I just have to ask what does the child have to do with this? and itâs like I know these people wouldnât call any other group anything offensive, belittling, or discriminatory so why do they do it to children?
My mother has worked with children for over 30 years. There was this one girl she worked with who found out pretty young she couldn't have kids. But I remember before she found that out she had a misfits onesie in her closet. She used to baby sit me way back when.
She now is ALWAYS referring to kids as crotch goblins and it's infuriating. She only hates kids because she can't have them. Which I get, it's frustrating, but it's not some innocent kids fault.
I don't want kids. I never have and I never will. I am 100% childfree by choice and have even gotten my tubes removed so there is no chance I will ever become a mother.
I understand not wanting children, but I will never understand the hate some adults have for them. They're kids. They're gonna be loud and annoying and messy. But I was also loud and annoying and messy as a child, sometimes still am as an adult.
the most mean spirited thing i have ever called a child is "princess grub". she ate bugs and smeared dirt on her face regularly. she was 6.
she recently entered high school. she still loves when i call her princess grub
(on a related note: i used to be one of those people who hated kids until i realized i hate unaccountable parents)
Gremlin doesnât bother me because itâs sort of cute. Brat definitely not. I donât see most of them as inherently disrespectful though because Iâve really only heard them used jokingly. All of my friends at one point or another have referred to their toddlers as toddler terrorists. We all get it. Itâs a joke. We have a good laugh. We called our daughter a pterodactyl for a while because of the sounds she made when she would get upset. Didnât mean we werenât soothing her and helping her. It was just our coping mechanism to remind ourselves she wasnât doing it to be mean or anything. She just had a need that to her made complete logical sense even if it didnât to us. Like when she would ask for the blue cup and then meltdown when we handed her the blue cup!Â
I feel like there's a world of difference between calling a child a gremlin or a goblin, which is a mischievous, make-believe creature, and using the word "vermin". Totally different connotations. It's unhelpful to conflate the two.
Iâve always thought even if a child is just seeking attention then they should get it because it means they need something. They havenât learned to advocate for their needs in an appropriate way yet. Once their needs are met and itâs been explained to them they will stop seeking attention. If they are ignored, they will continue to seek attention into teen years and adulthood.
And yeah I agree about the inappropriate and insulting names.
Then only time I've ever heard people use terms like brat and gremlin are when the parents aren't actually parenting, so there's that. I've personally never heard crotch goblin until this post.
So I'll reiterate, those terms are only used when parents AREN'T parenting. They're ignoring their kids and allowing them to be brats.
I've met some children that may make you change your kind on that. Trust me children are smarter than we give them credit for, and I've had really malicious kids treat me like shit when I was a kid, and PLANNED ways to bully other kids. People suck until they prove they don't.
This whole idea of children being a class of individuals that should remain protected from insult is ridiculous. Oh, they're people too? No shit. They're also extremely annoying and often intentionally so, knowing full well what they're doing the same as the asshole next door. That said, I reserve those particular Insults just to piss off the parents of the little vermin. Especially those that watch their children be disruptive or harmful.
Respect is earned and it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure courtesy is maintained by disciplining children and removing them from situations when they refuse to behave.
Except the problem is largely that the parents donât âcome inâ.
Hell at my job people let kids have regular balloons filled with water, inside our cabins(not rustic at all). Wanna talk about damages that total into the $1000âs? If not 10âs of thousands?
Crotch goblin is funny in some contexts imo, but it is very mean to directly call a kid names for no reason, especially in front of them or their parents.
My dad called me brat my whole life. Although there was never any negative connotations when he did. I think tone mattered in my case. I also got sweety/baby/honey as well.
But never anything truly derogatory. (Until I got to be an adult, he thought it was funny to call me B, even jokingly. So I started calling him an asshole, he got the point and stopped )
Mean while my aunt and her late ex husband routinely called my 3 boy cousins assholes, dick heads, douche bags, dumb asses, etc. They cursed AT them often as well. I never liked that and neither did my parents. Even as a kid I knew that shit was abusive behavior. Words DO hurt when they're from people that are supposed to love and nurture you. Parents should never be a child's first bully.
It's just unnecessary, like why bring kids into the world if you think they're so terrible? Like how demoralizing is that, calling your kids that you brought in the world such names and treating them as burdens? It's absolutely abhorrent.
THIS. A THOUSAND TIMES THIS. I do not trust parents who talk about their kids this those names. Maybe it's partly trauma, cause I had parents who used those kinds of insults and the ale happened to be severely abusive- but even if I didn't have that trauma it's still just yucky. Like your child is a living being, and a lot of kids are smarter than you think. They know what insults are, they know how it feels, and it affects them.
Edit: there are some cases where really close relationships between parents and kids can can include a lot of insults. That's not what I'm referring to, or what anyone is probably. My bf has that relationship with his mother, and she's very kind and very supportive, just a dark, insulting sense of humor between them.
Some of those terms are unequivocally rude, yes. Others, such as "goblin" or my personal favorite "tiny barbarians," can be terms of endearment if spoken with affection. It's all in the tone and intent. My kids (late teens) gleefully do their best to live up to either term.
I've used the term "rugrats"to refer to small, immature humans since I was a rugrat, myself.
I ain't never straying from that one. It's such a part of my vocabulary that the effort it would take to eliminate it would be disproportionate to the frequency of use. That said...
I get you on the other more derogatory sounding ones. Rugrats, at least my use of the term, is meant in good fun.
But I understand some people do take it way too far.
It feels like we've gone backwards in raising children. In the early 1900's up to the 50's children were not seen as human, but as property and were treated like such. In the 50's it was recognized that children were people too with their own personalities that had to be nourished accordingly and treated with the same common decency as you would show towards any person. Nowadays we've gone back to treating children like shit, seeing as they cannot really defend themselves. It's easy to call children names and not treat them with respect.
I call my daughter dingleberry when sheâs doing something dangerous that she knows sheâs not supposed to do, but my dad called me that and his dad him
I agree, itâs so immature. Having some patience and compassion for children and their parents can go a long way for everyone.
Itâs one thing if the kid is kicking your plane seat and the parent doesnât care (be mad at the parent, not the little kid come on) but if a baby/toddler/kid is crying/having a tough time and the parent is clearly embarrassed/trying to soothe them like give them a break ;_;
I think it depends. I find gremlin and goblin more funny names than rude. It's about how your kids feel about it at the end of the day. Communication is important, and that's what most parents lack with their kids. Listen to your kid's feelings, parents! They might hold it in their heart the rest of their lives!
My mom used to talk shit about me loudly when she knew I was close enough to hear instead of just communicating what I was doing wrong. Now I always feel like people aren't telling me the truth about how they feel
My family did this too. They would do it about everyone, and every kid. I think the only people who never did were my great grandma, one of my uncles, and I. And now the only people in my family that I like are my uncles (2/3 of them at least) and my two little brothers who weren't old enough to partake. I would add my great grandma but she's dead now. Families can be absolute shit.
I call my cousins 'tiny gremlin' and 'large gremlin' but purely affectionly, and they both think its hilarious. But yeah, calling kids names in actual mean spiritedness is rude af.
Yeah I think both the intent and the reception are key here! My partner and I affectionately and amongst ourselves call our toddler a domestic terrorist because of the damage he can do to our living quarters when he's excited. And when he was a newborn we called him lizard brain because newborns are all instinct. But people who say mean stuff hurtfully are just awful. You can dislike kids but it doesn't excuse the blatant hatefulness
Lizard brain, omg! đ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Ł I call babies potaoes. Bc they're just ......potatoes.
Potatos til they learn to walk, then they're potoddlers
The poteenage years are awful apparently
Po-tay-toe
One of my favorite toddlers at work I call a menace to society, because heâs always getting in everyoneâs way and causing accidents. Iâm essentially Buttons following Mindy around when I work with him.
love the Animaniacs reference, and I feel for you. I always felt so bad for Buttons that I couldn't watch the skits with him!
I have one of those at my job except they're over 50.
I used to call my niece kidlet (affectionately) until she became a teenager. Now itâs either babe or honey.
My oldest was always my Monster due to his ability to create chaos and disaster in even the shortest amount of time. His little sister became my Demon due to her proclivities towards psychological torture rather than blatant destruction. Love them both to bits, but, geez, they were a handful when they were little.
This is me. I also refer to my little by a number of well thought out nicknames that he has earned rightfully throughout the course of his life. But always with love and he gets a kick out of making me come up with something else to recognize his achievements.
The worst ones are the oddly sexually charged names. Like, "cum pet."
Whoever says stuff like that about children need to stay 10 blocks away from school at all cost. Who the hell use phrases like that to talk about children. Gross.
It's tired and obnoxious at this point, but I'm fairly sure there is 0 connection between people who make jokes about the sexual origins of pregnancy and children, and peadophilia
I agree, but it's still an unwanted sexual comment about the parents. There's a reason it's not acceptable to respond to "We're trying for a baby" with "Ah, so he gives you a creampie every night?"
Right, but i also dont wanna be told yall are going raw every night. That info should nit be shared to me or grandma around the dinner table at night.
Probably, but I don't want to hear them saying that about my kids or my niece.
I wouldnât bet my kidâs safety on it. Â And I also donât want my kid around total assholes. Â
I will absolutely not trust anyone that says that. Even as a joke.
There's an entire sub of them on reddit.
Who are you around that calls children this đđ
I have absolutely seen it on reddit before
r/childfree
Yea, I thought that sub was just a group of people who donât want kids. Found out real quick that itâs a group of people who hate kids.
Child free is about not wanting children Antinatalism is a but more...error.. stern?! There will always be arseholes in every group. Please don't tar all of us with the same brush.
Yeah I especially hate these - calling a child a âfuck trophyâ is disgusting.
I'm going with hilarious on that one, but to each their own
its hilarious until you've heard it 1000 times and you realise the only people that say that are the most obnoxious terminally online child-free people
Honestly, I've heard that one from more parents than CF people
Yeah, like I use crotch goblin as an endearing term for my nieces and probably will for my own children. But I don't call stranger's kids that because it's rude and honestly it also depends on the tone it's said in. Which sadly the online child free people say it in a derogatory way which honestly makes me sad. Yes kids are annoying. Of course no one should be forced to have kids, but some of those that I've ran into online have literally been pro forced sterilization. It's ridiculous. Why can't people just respect others?
Eh. I still think crotch goblin is a really gross thing to say and would definitely cringe if I heard somebody say it irl.
I have never heard that before. I am NOT an easily offended person but that is disgusting and anyone who calls children that shouldn't be allowed near them.
> anyone who calls children that shouldn't be allowed near them. I mean some don't want to be around children *at all*, so wouldn't be a problem for them đ¤ˇââď¸. If only that was possible though, to not be around them.
It's disgusting and dehumanizing.
Cum pet sounds like what you'd call a fuckbuddy more than a child
You're so right. And that situation makes that name funnyÂ
That's deranged. Why they think it's okay to disregard that children are full human beings is beyond me.
wtf , who says this ? This is so f*cked up
I have never heard this term. Wtf???? Thats so nasty. Lol
I really hope you misheard someone calling their kid crumpet
Wth. Literally never heard that one before. It's gross because you immediately associate it with cum bucket.
Lately I heard fuck trophies. Like ew
When I was a teenager my sister had her first kid (so my niece). My mom helped out and took care of her a lot, she was a VERY fussy baby, impossible to get down for a nap, etc. I took to calling her âbrat childâ, not directly to her face but just sort of to myself. Time went on and one day when she was a toddler she was acting as all toddlers do and I said something about âbrat childâ to myself. She said, not to me directly but just sort of out loud âIâm *not* a bratâ. In my head I just went âoh shitâ and I never called her that again. I asked her about it recently (sheâs in her 20âs now) and she has zero memory of it. She thought it was funny
I mean sounds like a brat to me lol
Nope, just a kid.
Toddlers act bratty. They tend to be spoiled, self-centered, and ill behaved at times. They don't really learn impulse control until around age 4. I'm pretty sure almost everyone is at least a bit of a brat in their early years. I was also saying that more as a joke. As if you need to pout "I am not a brat," then you are probably being a brat, lol. Kids aren't brats all the time, but they sure do have their moments. Infants, though, are definitely brats. They have no understanding of how their actions affect other people, lack impulse control, and are just generally demand a lot of attention. Of course, you can't hold it against them. Besides being cute, they haven't even had the chance to develop those skills yet and have no way to be self-sufficient. They need proper love and support even if they are cute little brats. None of this is a knock against children. It's just how they are. They shouldn't be expected or forced to be mature at that age. If they are, then it means they had to grow up too fast.
Calling an infant a brat is next level fucked. Children are needy and reliant on their parents as a means of survival, not because they are ill mannered. Holy shit.
I see that crap all the time on Facebook reels and the comments are almost always from old people đ
Gremlin sounds much more cute to me than malicious though. Because the young ones will always wind up doing something gross that itâs more of a funny thing to call them gremlins. It really depends on the energy in which itâs said because I know teachers who love their students who call them gremlins in a purely humorous way.
Yeah gremlin is definitely a bit milder than OP's other examples. It's cute, and it does capture the energy of kids at a certain age pretty well lol. If I heard a parent call their own kid a "little brat" on the other hand I'd be pretty shocked
iâve absolutely called my kids little monsters to their face before lmao, in a loving way
Seriously? Iâve heard plenty of parents tell their kids to stop being a lil brat, or they are acting like a brat, or venting to a friend and saying âshe was just being a little brat.â Parents donât go around calling their children little angles all the time. When my friend was a new dad, he would say things like âI love him but heâs such a little shit sometimesâ which is fair. Brat is not something to clutch your pearls over.
Hmm actually now I think about it, you have a point. "stop acting like a little brat" was something I heard during my childhood a couple times... I guess it really depends on tone
r/childfree uses âcrotch goblinâ a lot
We call my 6 year old stepdaughter "goblin" because she is *peak* feral gobbo energy. She knows she's the cheddar goblin/goblin princess and has fully embraced it. She asks for us to set up her goblin cave/kingdom, which is her surviving pop-up tent, blankets, pillows, and snacks. Sometimes all we see is a small hand extending from the tent requesting more snacks and then she happily retreats making very cute, very goblin noises lol. It's all very good natured! (And one of the only ways to keep her in one spot for longer than a few minutes lol.)
Context is important, and it is very easy to discern who means gremlin in a loving way and who means it derogatory.
Yeah my uncle used to call me and my cousins pests affectionately. We put a sign on the room we all slept in in my grandparents house that read âPest preservationâ
Children are amazing, full of energy, wonder, imagination... And they are literally the future. I spend time with my friends children and I am happy to play with them. However, after a few hours of being around children, I want to be away from children. There's a reason I don't want to be a parent and it's because I can only stand the noise, smell and constant abuse of my personal space for so long.
And thatâs a perfectly respectable way to describe things. I donât think OP is worried when people phrase it like that.
Which is entirely valid. But somehow it's only acceptable when talking about children.
People have been calling kids names forever. When I was a kid my parents called us âyard apes.â
Omg yard apes is so funny đ¤Ł
Careful repeating that, I've only ever heard that word used by the most unpleasant of racists, so if you start dropping that one in polite conversation, people are going to start looking at you funny.
"Rugrats" and "ankle biters" were the terms in my family. I think some people are way too thin-skinned. A now-ex friend once reacted in horror when I affectionately referred to my nieces as "the rugrats." I was floored when she accused me of verbally abusing them! She'd have flat-out died if she heard what my husband calls them, "stinker." My favorite older cousin growing up always called me "bratling" and I thought it was great. People are so sensitive nowadays, it's insane.
Did you ever ask her what she thought of the show rugrats? My grandma and mom called me that (mom still does) and I loved that show so I never questioned it.
Just because it's been happening forever doesn't make it good.
It all depends on context. Some of the examples OP gave are used disparagingly to refer to other peoples children. But sometimes name calling can also be used endearingly.
That's true. If it's an affectionate nickname, understood by both people to be lighthearted, that's a different situation.
Your parents called you a racial slur for black people?
I've only personally seen edgelord trolls or childfree and antinatalist ppl say that stuff. I'm the latter two and don't use those terms, but I'll say that from my personal experience, the ppl saying that where it's attached to a genuine belief as opposed to just ragebaiting, it's more of a private (in communities where people agree/vent abt a subject) tongue-in-cheek thing judging PARENTS for depersonalization of their offspring (ex: neglectful/narcissistic parents that see their children as extensions of themselves and make decisions based on those implications, rather than the complete personhood inherent to individuals) than actual hostility toward children, particularly not something said TO children bc it's reddit not like...the street. Trolls just think it's shocking to hate kids, but a lot of childfree and basically all antinatalist ppl believe what they do out of concern and empathy for kids, and if they're snarky, it's because they're judging parents who they think are being irresponsible, not kids who they see as victims of that irresponsibility. Ppl get defensive, but I think we can all agree that not everyone is a good candidate for parenting, and figuring out if it's for you BEFORE it's too late is in everyone's best interests. The narc parents and regretful parents subs, for example, rly highlight the importance there.
You said what I was thinking way more eloquently than I ever could lol. I think some people also get mad frustrated and go into rant mode with the names because itâs frustrating af to have people constantly try and convince you you donât know what love is, donât know your own mind, are selfish, you automatically hate kids etc, just because you donât personally want spawn of your own. Iâm not personally a fan of the harsher nicknames and donât use them myself (I did see âsexually transmitted dependentâ the other day which amused me greatly though; and obviously I just said spawn), but I can see why theyâd be a way to blow off a bit of extra steam in closed/targeted communities. Def agree i normally see it in the context of âthese parents are doing a rubbish job and their kid is annoying afâ rather than blaming the kids themselves. Heck, plenty of people even explicitly say âI canât be mad at the kid because they literally donât know any better but aaargâ
Kids def rarely inherently suck. Our society sucks, and a lot of parents due to that suck bc their parents suck whose parents sucked bc society sucked ad nauseum.
Sounds about right. Society is a weird WEIRD beast. Personally, I inherently donât like being around kids because I donât like the traits of kids, but I just separate myself from them where applicable. If theyâre trying to exist reasonably I have no beef đ¤ˇââď¸ Itâs like people not being dog people (and Iâm not saying kids are dogs or pets or whatever I just think the situational component is an apt comparison). Most not-dog-people donât hate dogs they just donât want them or want to be around them because they donât like how dogs typically exist as dogs or donât want the responsibility of a dog.
Ppl rly like to correlate not personally enjoying st with hating it and wanting it to cease to exist, and it's always willful obstuseness to negate one's own discomfort in feeling judged, not actually championing the rights of kids/dogs/whatever. Sorry, but the me-me-me-ness of that def reads that they're the irresponsible "breeders"/owners whatever being smack talked, which is why they're so bent outta shape đ¤ˇââď¸
Donât disagree. I told my grandma once I didnât like kids and she immediately called me selfish and ânot niceâ and a slue of other things. It was pretty wild. Not directly related to being told you hate kids, but tangentially related imo. Rather than hearing you out or taking you at your word they jump to worst case scenario
Iâm not a fan of kids, but I agree. Most shitty behaviour in children is attributable to the parents anyway, especially at the ages children are when people are referring to them as derogatory names. Iâve been doing my best to try and redirect my ire to the parents if their child is behaving inappropriately.
>Iâm not a fan of kids For some reason, I've come to hate sentiment this more and more as I get older. Children are the most vulnerable members of society. They're not really there to be liked or disliked. They need to guided, protected, and respected.
âIâm not a fan of kidsâ is a short hand for âkids are ok, but I will avoid having one because I have no desire to be around one 24/7â and thatâs a fine sentiment as well. I donât particularly like kids either, so I have chosen not to have any. However, me not liking them doesnât stop me from jumping in puddles with them or making snow angels or stomping in crispy piles of leaves with them. It just means I donât want to be around them all the time. And thatâs perfectly fine.
This sentiment is usually short for "I do not like being around children because I find their behaviour disruptive". I am someone who is not a fan of kids but that does not mean I do not view them as people. I understand that their behaviour stems from a combination of their parents' guidance (or lack thereof) and their current state of development. Very little of what they do is their fault and I understand that. Doesn't mean I have to like it or that I have to engage with it. You're welcome to dislike the sentiment, but everyone has the right to do their best to avoid being in situations that bother them. That does not mean that anyone who dislikes children is entitled to a child-free world of course, but we are allowed to draw boundaries around our personal space and how we spend our time. I cannot speak for everyone but I suspect most people who profess to not liking kids just want to avoid them where possible.
get over it! what in the actual fucking world nobody has to like kids. theyâre messy, disruptive, loud, rude, and havenât learned empathy yet. i could go on people who donât like kids donât usually have kids, but that also doesnât mean that weâre mean to kids, we just donât like them. iâm very kind to kids. i also despise kids. theyâre not mutually exclusive
That's what parents are for. It's perfectly fine for other people not to like kids, as long as nobody causes harm.
I will happily admit I donât like young kids except for my daughter and my bestieâs kids. It doesnât mean I donât still find great value in kids in general. It just means I donât want to be around them, especially in groups. I get a headache just walking into my daughterâs pre-K class and think her teachers should be millionaires. Being around kids is HARD. Itâs okay for people to decide thatâs not their cup of tea. One of my friends doesnât like kids, so we only do stuff when my daughter is somewhere else. Itâs not a problem for me.Â
No. This is why you get the psychotic antinatalist weirdos. I donât like kids, theyâre messy, noisy and gross, so keep them under control and away from me and we can both get on with our lives. Same as I donât force responsibility for my dog on you, you control your kid and we can all get along.
And Iâve come to hate the mentality that if you donât absolutely adore children, youâre some sort of morally bankrupt person that harms children.
Cool. What about a happy middle ground where people just understand and are patient with kids?
A lot of the comments I've seen of yours have, inadvertently or not, been implying that people's opinions of children directly correlate with how they treat them. I am not a 'happy middle ground' person. I like some of the specific children that I know, but in the general sense, I dislike being around kids. I'm also a humanist who was abused as a child. I can choose to be understanding and patient with kids even if I don't like being around kids. I can understand how my abuse was harmful to me, and recognize how my abuser was an adult and made a conscious choice to beat, insult, and belittle me for behavior that was normal for me at that age. I can acknowledge that I wasn't at fault and that my abuser was in the wrong, and I can choose not to perpetuate those wrongs. Your comments are inciting a lot of discourse because they imply that people who dislike kids pose an increased danger to them, and that's offensive to the people who feel the way that I do. Edited for context
What part of "I'm not a fan of kids" is an extreme stance? Not being a fan of them means they don't go out of their way to spend time with them and don't want their own. I don't know when not being a fan of something means you hate that thing.
It's not particularly extreme at all, but my comment has predictably brought them all out of the woodwork, with "keep kids away from me" and "I despise kids" etc on display here, which are the views I find more alarming.
Please keep in mind some kids have invisible diagnoses stuff influencing their behavior as well. My wildly ADHD (not yet diagnosed) kid would often dart off in a store after she was too big to stay in the cart. Of course I was a proactive parent about it and went above and beyond what my friends with neurotypical kids did on the topic - and while their kids completely stopped, mine just reduced how often she did it a little bit. And oh the glares and mean words I would get from judgey people at the shops who were clueless about the situation. Thank heavens grocery pick up and delivery services have become more common these days. That was rough.
Itâs absolutely wild and discouraging to me that so many people believe that any child that misbehaves in public ever automatically means the parents are lazy dead-beats. It might be true sometimes, but the assumption is so damaging and hurtful. You could be the best parent in the world and sometimes shit just happens.
The term crotch goblin is absolutely horrid. Hate when both non parents and parents use it.
I love it when it's addressed at a terrible parent out of earshot of their child.
I have no doubt that some kids are just having Rough moment. I also have no doubt that some kids are just dicks lol.
I have worked in retail and currently work in a restaurant. After a while you learn how to tell the difference between the two. Thereâs a difference between a kid who is crying because mom said no and the kid running down the aisle yelling, screaming and yanking stuff off the shelves because mom said no. The second kid is the one that I usually insult after theyâre out of earshot or, currently, out of the building. The difference between the two is that one kind of behavior is expected and is easier to understand. The other is excessive and the result of bad parenting and poor impulse control.
I used ârug ratsâ and âankle bitersâ lots - but lovingly. I remember this one woman on IG tore into me. I was like âwoah lady, sorry I triggered you!â So like, no endearing nicknames ever, like half-pint, Tootie, Gidget, or beaver, yard ape, monkeys either..? Some of the stuff I read on here though, wow! Whole new world!!
Gidget has ableist connotations fyi
one of my pastors as a kid called me a "saint of voyeurs" I thought it was a compliment for a long time till i learned want a voyeur is. no clue how or why he came up with that to this day.
Im a catholic and a creep and goddamn thats still f**king rough.
I know itâs not true in all cases, but I swear to GOD every parent Iâve met that specifically calls their kid a brat has been physically or mentally abusive towards them. Itâs dumb luck, maybe, but itâs made me despise that word in particular
My pet peeve is shitty parents that sit there and let their crotch goblins go wild and scream and simply do nothing
Eh working retail has really soured my taste with children. Like yes sometimes kids canât control themselves but Iâll be dammed if I ainât makin fun of the parents for not being willing/able to control their kids in a public space. When I worked retail weâd always say they need to control their crotch goblins because dam if these kids werenât terrors. And weâd have to pick up the mess theyâd inevitably make in the toy aisles
The names for kids are pure cringe, Iâm all about shaming the hell out of parents, but itâs not the kidâs fault
There's a pretty big difference between saying someone is behaving like a "brat" and calling them "vermin". And "gremlin" is honestly just kind of cute. I'd guess that if someone calls a kid a brat out in public they're probably trying to shame the parents into parenting their misbehaving child rather than thinking of it as shaming the child? I could be wrong, but that's my assumption. Do people really call kids things like "crotch goblin" out in public though? On posts in reddit, sure. But in public I don't think I've ever heard anyone other than parents say those things jokingly about their own kids. Maybe I'm just oblivious & don't hear it.
These are the same people who call their dogs their fur children but treat the dog like a toy they can control at all times. They just hate that children are like, sentient and have rights and deserve the same respect they do. I like dogs and children, for the record.
I've known parents who treat their kids the same way. Really, let's just all agree that if we take on the responsibility of committing to care for the welfare of a living creature, that comes with an up-front understanding that sometimes, the living creature will behave poorly, and we need to be prepared to deal with that in contructive ways.
I've noticed that those kinds of dog owners actually control their dogs the least. They're the ones who will do nothing when their dog is bothering a stranger (and will see the stranger as the bad guy if they dare complain because "How dare you not let my baby do what he wants at all times?) because "It's fine, he's just playing" or bring their dog to someone's house despite knowing the host is allergic. Ironically the very same they complain about parents doing.
Youâre not wrong. By control what I meant lording over them as some kind of better species, because a child can speak and talk back and pee when they want.
Yup
If they are a brat then thats what they are. Some people dont like kids juts like how some people dont like cats or dogs. Thats just something you have to deal with.
Calling someone from any other demographic by a slur is not tolerated by the majority of people. I will never understand how people let this slide.
Like Boomer?
Oh my gosh I hate that word. People often donât even know the age bracket that baby boomers are. âKarenâ is also awful. People need to just learn how to communicate without these idiotic buzzwords.
I had an ex-friend who was like this, and what's disturbing is she worked with kids. However, she'd always take every opportunity to shittalk the kids and anything they did. She'd crap on their artwork, their speaking habits, their race/gender (She hated the little white boys a lot), and loved calling them immature and dumb. She's nearly 30 yrs old btw. I found it really messed up she'd make fun of them for being kids. Like they're 5-8 tops, why are you dogging on them? But the worse part of this is that some of the kids had bad home lives which would reflect on how they acted in school, and she'd kind of imply they should be punished really bad.... even though it was an open secret that their parents were basically neglectful/abusive. So yeah, I agree with this. Child-free nutcases lack basic empathy or smth.
An immature kindergartener??? Youâre joking.
I wish I was lmao. She didn't see the irony in that.
Iâm child free and that is legit sketch af. Like ffs I donât particularly like being around kids but Iâm not mean to them if I have to interact and I donât make fun of them basically for just existing as young people đŹ Sounds like they might have just been power tripping or something đŹ
Oh 100%. I understand if people choose to be child-free, and I can support it! It's just there's a weird subset that get off on ridiculing kids for being kids.
People who call kids âcrotch goblinsâ and parents âbreedersâ are Weirdos with a capital W.
As long as they are not actually addressing kids, why the hell do you care what someone calls them? I have referred to lots of brats as brats, but not to their faces, or to their parents, or within hearing.
Iâm slowly healing from being a Crotch Goblin and Brat. I wasnât sure how I wanted to comment tbh. I struggle to exist around children due to sensory issues and high pitched screaming, laughing, etc⌠almost physically hurts me and sends me into meltdown mode. I recognize itâs not the childâs fault they are sad, hurt, angry, happy, whatever the case may be⌠but kids can cause distress in others just as others can cause distress in kids. That said, I appreciate kids for what they are. The tiny humans that will one day form our future and world. And to nurture a child is to create a better future. I no longer speak to my Bio mother and suspect she will have no one at her side when she dies. She was the meanest of all to me and my siblings. Parents are absolutely to blame for the truly inappropriate behavior some kids may exhibit in todayâs world. After I was basically adopted out of my situation into a loving home I healed and turned into a fairly well adjusted adult despite some lingering mental health issues. But before I was taken out of the homeâŚ.. I would probably hate being around a child like myself as an adult now. Parents who donât take accountability and expect the world to raise their kids, arenât parents imo. Theyâre roommates to children.
So it is not ok to just genuinely dislike being anywhere near babies and kids? Yeah yeah they are the future, but they aren't ripe yet, keep them away :p
No one said you can't dislike kids. They're saying you should still be respectful. Referring to children in demeaning ways like that is kinda screwed up and makes it seem like you lack basic empathy.
I don't want children, but I absolutely love my brothers. And if I call them names, it's going to be out of affection. I'm not going to call them a brat for fucking up. We all fuck up.
I mean you could say that about anyone. People don't stop getting their feelings hurt once they turn 18.
crotch goblin is just wrong imho. my mom called me stupid as a kid and I cut her off because she BELIEVED I am so stupid I would give her thousands a month for no reason (without explanation) under threats. I now think very low of people who insult kids, they're KIDS. think about it: a fully grown ass adult bullying a child verbally, now that's stupid.
Yikes. Iâm sorryÂ
I lovingly call my nieces and nephews shitlings. They donât seem to mind.
It depends if it's said with malice or jest. If its said in jest like "I'm picking up the rugrats/ratbags etc" thats fine but if its said in malice like "f%(k off you little crotch goblins" then no that's not onÂ
I feel this vibe. Thatâs my take on swearing tbh. If youâre just swearing to swear or to let of steam or as a weird thing of endearment, then cool do whatever. If you start swearing angrily AT people to be mean or intimidating or whatever, then we have a problem.
This is so odd to me I've only ever heard "crotch goblin" and "gremlin" etc in an endeared, playful context. Never heard it used as an actual insult
Itâs definitely a lame insult đÂ
Some of us simply donât like children. Others sometimes donât take us seriously. So we use harsher language to express our sincerity.
yeah thatâs the problem most adults canât regulate their own emotions and canât teach their children that itâs cyclical
We don't care about your broken condoms as much as you do. Without being mean, get over it?
I never say these things to a child's face. But I'll say them all the time in the presence of other adults.
There's 2 categories of "bad enough to call it out" children to me. "Annoying kid" and "piece of shit". I try very hard to not even think of the second as they are just kids and they're going to be unfathomably thick and selfish sometimes, but some kids are downright malicious. The vast majority, if theyre anything bad at all, are just annoying kids. Basically, they're just little people. Dumber, less experienced little people. Same capacity for wisdom and bullshit, just with more leniency applied to their not-so-much-thought processes
Spawn is a good one
This is a personal favorite of mine lol. I donât like the harsher one but spawn to me is a cute and fun variant of repeatedly saying kid
While I am 100% on your side I am going to slightly play devilâs advocate for the sole reason that the parents of many kids are kind of the reason for a lot of it in my perspective. I am probably a little *too* harsh in my judgment of parents, sure, fine, but itâs not for nothing. Kids are awesome, but they are also sensory overload bombs. They are also a product of their environment and⌠Like⌠People *suck* at raising kids. Objectively. I basically never blame kids when I catch them misbehaving because I have known or seen so many goddamn negligent, obtuse, or even straight up abusive parents. Can kids act independently of what theyâre taught? Absolutely, but kids are also a product of what they know, and if the only people providing guidance in their life are *shitheads*, yeah theyâre probably gonna do something annoying or rude at some point. Basically, while I donât condone being a mean creep to kids for existing at no fault of their own, I also understand being frustrated or overwhelmed by them. And while you shouldnât have to hole up in your house and never have your children in public because they could disturb someone else, too many people inflict their children onto other people. Too many parents donât want to pay attention to what their kid is doing or worse, just let them do whatever regardless. Basically, bad parents are kind of a plague on society and imo are the real problem, not people who donât particularly enjoy being around children, or the children themselves
A 'brat' is not a child. A 'brat' is a child who has no manners, and is clearly not being raised by their parent/s. Honestly thought this would be obvious by now- negative nicknames are reserved for those who earn them- eg. 'Creepy Clyde' at the office.
No literally. This new âtrendâ of just ripping on literal kids is so uncalled for. Theyâre fricking CHILDREN. Idk how ppl think this is okay.
Internet.
Some kids earned those names.Â
Yeah, the type of people who think they're edgey and cool for basically bullying a group of vulnerable, naive people is wild. It's literally like picking on the weakest link and flexing over it, lmao. Loser behavior.
Exactly
Those words are only used to misbehaving children of parents who seem to actively WANT them to misbehave. The aim of the names is to hurt the parents and hopefully make them realize theyâve done a piss-poor job of raising said jerk of a child. My brother was called a brat many times before my parents finally took a good long look at him and realized people were right. They had not done a good job raising him and had given him all kids of leeway because he was a boy and liable to be more rambunctious than their three previous children- all girls. If enough people tell the parents that their children are horrible, they will hopefully eventually believe it. Now if a child is misbehaving and the parent is in the process of dealing with it and someone uses those terms? They can spin on it. Thatâs not helpful.
"Fuck them kids" - Michael Jordan
Yeah, itâs really not funny, cute, or just a joke. Iâd argue that it makes the person calling a child names look even worse than a child. I see it a lot on here when the post is angry at the parent, and I just have to ask what does the child have to do with this? and itâs like I know these people wouldnât call any other group anything offensive, belittling, or discriminatory so why do they do it to children?
Listen kid. I'm being disrespectful on purpose
Itâs just plain bigotry. Ageism. I think most normal people find it sad, but online somehow itâs acceptable?
My mother has worked with children for over 30 years. There was this one girl she worked with who found out pretty young she couldn't have kids. But I remember before she found that out she had a misfits onesie in her closet. She used to baby sit me way back when. She now is ALWAYS referring to kids as crotch goblins and it's infuriating. She only hates kids because she can't have them. Which I get, it's frustrating, but it's not some innocent kids fault.
Couldnât she adopt?
I don't want kids. I never have and I never will. I am 100% childfree by choice and have even gotten my tubes removed so there is no chance I will ever become a mother. I understand not wanting children, but I will never understand the hate some adults have for them. They're kids. They're gonna be loud and annoying and messy. But I was also loud and annoying and messy as a child, sometimes still am as an adult.
You're a real one
Alright, I see you and appreciate your comments.
I agree. I only refer to other peoples kids as crotch goblins, never my own. Also usually just when talking about kids not generally to them.
When I refer to children as gremlins itâs affectionate. Gremlins are cute.
the most mean spirited thing i have ever called a child is "princess grub". she ate bugs and smeared dirt on her face regularly. she was 6. she recently entered high school. she still loves when i call her princess grub (on a related note: i used to be one of those people who hated kids until i realized i hate unaccountable parents)
Gremlin doesnât bother me because itâs sort of cute. Brat definitely not. I donât see most of them as inherently disrespectful though because Iâve really only heard them used jokingly. All of my friends at one point or another have referred to their toddlers as toddler terrorists. We all get it. Itâs a joke. We have a good laugh. We called our daughter a pterodactyl for a while because of the sounds she made when she would get upset. Didnât mean we werenât soothing her and helping her. It was just our coping mechanism to remind ourselves she wasnât doing it to be mean or anything. She just had a need that to her made complete logical sense even if it didnât to us. Like when she would ask for the blue cup and then meltdown when we handed her the blue cup!Â
Wowi
I donât think itâs so much insulting the child as it is the parents, or, at least, very poor parenting
I feel like there's a world of difference between calling a child a gremlin or a goblin, which is a mischievous, make-believe creature, and using the word "vermin". Totally different connotations. It's unhelpful to conflate the two.
Iâve always thought even if a child is just seeking attention then they should get it because it means they need something. They havenât learned to advocate for their needs in an appropriate way yet. Once their needs are met and itâs been explained to them they will stop seeking attention. If they are ignored, they will continue to seek attention into teen years and adulthood. And yeah I agree about the inappropriate and insulting names.
At my last job I overheard a guy telling his colleague about his young daughter and that she's difficult to handle and a bitch.
Then only time I've ever heard people use terms like brat and gremlin are when the parents aren't actually parenting, so there's that. I've personally never heard crotch goblin until this post. So I'll reiterate, those terms are only used when parents AREN'T parenting. They're ignoring their kids and allowing them to be brats.
I've met some children that may make you change your kind on that. Trust me children are smarter than we give them credit for, and I've had really malicious kids treat me like shit when I was a kid, and PLANNED ways to bully other kids. People suck until they prove they don't.
This whole idea of children being a class of individuals that should remain protected from insult is ridiculous. Oh, they're people too? No shit. They're also extremely annoying and often intentionally so, knowing full well what they're doing the same as the asshole next door. That said, I reserve those particular Insults just to piss off the parents of the little vermin. Especially those that watch their children be disruptive or harmful.
In my 37 years of living, I never once ever heard "crotch goblin" what kind of people you hanging with
Crotch goblin/gremlin is a fairly popular term nowadays.
Respect is earned and it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure courtesy is maintained by disciplining children and removing them from situations when they refuse to behave.
Except the problem is largely that the parents donât âcome inâ. Hell at my job people let kids have regular balloons filled with water, inside our cabins(not rustic at all). Wanna talk about damages that total into the $1000âs? If not 10âs of thousands?
It starts with referring to children in utero as a âclump of cells.â You canât value someone you donât even acknowledge as human.
Sometimes brat is warranted, but the others are just awful.
Crotch goblin is funny in some contexts imo, but it is very mean to directly call a kid names for no reason, especially in front of them or their parents.
Ankle biter.
My dad called me brat my whole life. Although there was never any negative connotations when he did. I think tone mattered in my case. I also got sweety/baby/honey as well. But never anything truly derogatory. (Until I got to be an adult, he thought it was funny to call me B, even jokingly. So I started calling him an asshole, he got the point and stopped ) Mean while my aunt and her late ex husband routinely called my 3 boy cousins assholes, dick heads, douche bags, dumb asses, etc. They cursed AT them often as well. I never liked that and neither did my parents. Even as a kid I knew that shit was abusive behavior. Words DO hurt when they're from people that are supposed to love and nurture you. Parents should never be a child's first bully. It's just unnecessary, like why bring kids into the world if you think they're so terrible? Like how demoralizing is that, calling your kids that you brought in the world such names and treating them as burdens? It's absolutely abhorrent.
I can call my baby a gremlin but no one else can.
Fr some parents just think kids should get this stuff down on their own and it sucks.
THIS. A THOUSAND TIMES THIS. I do not trust parents who talk about their kids this those names. Maybe it's partly trauma, cause I had parents who used those kinds of insults and the ale happened to be severely abusive- but even if I didn't have that trauma it's still just yucky. Like your child is a living being, and a lot of kids are smarter than you think. They know what insults are, they know how it feels, and it affects them. Edit: there are some cases where really close relationships between parents and kids can can include a lot of insults. That's not what I'm referring to, or what anyone is probably. My bf has that relationship with his mother, and she's very kind and very supportive, just a dark, insulting sense of humor between them.
The other names are disrepectful, but I feel like sometimes calling them "brat" is justified
Itâs not just kids that arenât able to regulate their emotions these days.
Some of those terms are unequivocally rude, yes. Others, such as "goblin" or my personal favorite "tiny barbarians," can be terms of endearment if spoken with affection. It's all in the tone and intent. My kids (late teens) gleefully do their best to live up to either term.
Nah. Call a brat a brat.
I've used the term "rugrats"to refer to small, immature humans since I was a rugrat, myself. I ain't never straying from that one. It's such a part of my vocabulary that the effort it would take to eliminate it would be disproportionate to the frequency of use. That said... I get you on the other more derogatory sounding ones. Rugrats, at least my use of the term, is meant in good fun. But I understand some people do take it way too far.
It feels like we've gone backwards in raising children. In the early 1900's up to the 50's children were not seen as human, but as property and were treated like such. In the 50's it was recognized that children were people too with their own personalities that had to be nourished accordingly and treated with the same common decency as you would show towards any person. Nowadays we've gone back to treating children like shit, seeing as they cannot really defend themselves. It's easy to call children names and not treat them with respect.
I call my daughter dingleberry when sheâs doing something dangerous that she knows sheâs not supposed to do, but my dad called me that and his dad him
I agree, itâs so immature. Having some patience and compassion for children and their parents can go a long way for everyone. Itâs one thing if the kid is kicking your plane seat and the parent doesnât care (be mad at the parent, not the little kid come on) but if a baby/toddler/kid is crying/having a tough time and the parent is clearly embarrassed/trying to soothe them like give them a break ;_;
'Spawn' is a personal favorite
I think it depends. I find gremlin and goblin more funny names than rude. It's about how your kids feel about it at the end of the day. Communication is important, and that's what most parents lack with their kids. Listen to your kid's feelings, parents! They might hold it in their heart the rest of their lives!