If you’ve come across the word adultism and want a straight answer, here it is: adultism means prejudice or discrimination against children and young people simply because of their age, according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary definition. It shows up as adults assuming they know better, overriding a child’s wishes, or excluding young people from decisions that affect them directly.
The term isn’t new. Psychologist Jack Flasher first defined it in a 1978 academic paper, and it’s been used by children’s rights researchers and youth work organisations ever since. It’s distinct from ageism, which covers age discrimination more broadly across the whole population.
This article covers what adultism actually looks like, how it shows up in UK schools and families, the legal protections that exist for children’s voices, and practical ways to challenge it.
What Does Adultism Mean?
Adultism is the assumption that adults are inherently more capable, more trustworthy, or more entitled to make decisions than children and young people, purely because of age. Youth worker John Bell defined it in 1995 as behaviours and attitudes based on the belief that adults are better than young people and entitled to act on them without agreement.
It’s worth separating adultism from reasonable parenting or safeguarding. Psychology Today’s coverage of the concept makes clear that most parenting isn’t adultist: children genuinely do need age-appropriate guidance and protection. Adultism specifically describes the pattern of systematically dismissing or overriding young people’s views, not every instance of an adult setting a boundary.
Adultism vs Ageism
Ageism covers prejudice based on age generally, including discrimination against older people. Adultism is narrower: it specifically describes bias against children and adolescents as a group, and some researchers treat it as a subtype of ageism rather than a separate phenomenon entirely.
What Does Adultism Look Like in Practice?
Adultism rarely looks dramatic. It’s usually built from small, repeated moments rather than one obvious incident.
- Being talked over or interrupted: a young person raises a point in a family or school discussion and gets cut off before finishing.
- Decisions made without consultation: a school changes a policy that affects pupils directly, without asking any of them first.
- Assumed incompetence: a child’s opinion on something is dismissed with “you’re too young to understand” rather than being engaged with.
- Unequal consequences: an adult’s mistake is excused as human error, while a child’s identical mistake is treated as a character flaw.
- Physical or spatial control: children are told where to sit, when to speak, and when to leave a room, in situations where an adult wouldn’t accept the same restrictions.
Where Adultism Shows Up in the UK
In Schools
School councils exist in many UK schools partly to give pupils a formal voice, but researchers and campaigners note that consultation is sometimes symbolic rather than genuine, with decisions already made before pupils are asked. The NASUWT’s own guidance on student voice notes that engaging pupils in decisions supports their wider development, but this depends on schools treating it as more than a box-ticking exercise.
In Families
Adultism at home often looks like decisions being made on a child’s behalf, about schooling, health, or daily routines, without asking for their view even where the child is old enough to have one worth hearing. This doesn’t mean children should make every decision themselves. It means their perspective should be part of the conversation, proportionate to their age and understanding.
In Health and Legal Settings
UK law does recognise a young person’s growing right to be heard as they mature. Gillick competence, a legal test from a 1985 House of Lords case, is used by professionals to judge whether a child has enough maturity to understand a decision and consent to it themselves, most often in medical contexts, according to guidance published by the NSPCC. It’s a formal recognition that treating every young person identically, regardless of age or maturity, doesn’t match how capability actually develops.
What Does UK Law Say About Children’s Rights?
The UK ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1991. Article 12 of the Convention gives every child the right to express their views and have them given due weight in decisions that affect them, and Article 3 requires their best interests to be a primary consideration.
The Convention isn’t fully written into domestic law in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, though its principles guide policy and are referenced by courts, according to NASUWT’s guidance for schools. Scotland has gone further: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act gives the UNCRC direct legal effect there.
This gap matters for anyone researching adultism in the UK specifically. A child’s right to be heard is recognised in principle across the whole UK, but only has direct legal force in Scotland, which is why practice can vary noticeably between schools, councils and services depending on where you are.
Why Adultism Matters
The consequences aren’t only about fairness in the moment. Repeated experiences of being dismissed or overridden are linked to lower self-esteem and reduced confidence in expressing opinions later, according to coverage of the research by Psychology Today. Children who consistently feel unheard may withdraw from group discussions and decision-making rather than keep pushing to be included.
There’s also a wider social cost. Save the Children UK points out that genuinely involving young people in decisions, rather than just informing them afterwards, tends to produce better outcomes and stronger buy-in from the people affected.
How to Challenge Adultism
A few practical steps help, whether you’re a parent, teacher, or someone working with young people:
- Ask before deciding wherever the decision affects a young person directly, even if the final call still sits with an adult.
- Explain the reasoning behind a decision rather than relying on age alone as the justification.
- Build in a genuine mechanism for feedback, such as an active school council with real influence over outcomes, not just an agenda item.
- Notice language that dismisses rather than engages, phrases like “because I said so” used as a substitute for explanation.
- Distinguish age-appropriate protection from unnecessary control, since not every boundary is adultist, but blanket dismissal usually is.
FAQs
What is the simple definition of adultism?
Adultism is prejudice or discrimination against children and young people as a group, based purely on their age, according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. It typically involves adults assuming superior judgement or authority over young people without justification beyond age itself.
Who coined the term adultism?
Psychologist Jack Flasher first used the modern definition in a 1978 journal article in the publication Adolescence, describing it as the abuse of power adults hold over children. The term was later developed further by youth work researcher John Bell in 1995.
Is adultism the same as ageism?
No, ageism covers age-based prejudice across all age groups, including older people, while adultism specifically refers to discrimination against children and adolescents. Some academics treat adultism as a subtype of ageism rather than a wholly separate concept.
Is all parenting adultist?
No, age-appropriate guidance and safeguarding from a parent isn’t inherently adultist. Adultism describes the systematic pattern of dismissing or overriding a young person’s views without justification, not the ordinary boundaries that come with raising a child.
Does UK law protect children’s right to be heard?
Yes in principle. The UK ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, and Article 12 gives children the right to express views and have them considered, though this isn’t fully incorporated into domestic law in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, unlike in Scotland.
What is Gillick competence and how does it relate to adultism?
Gillick competence is a legal test from a 1985 House of Lords case used to judge whether a child has enough maturity to consent to their own medical decisions. It’s a formal legal recognition that treating all young people as equally incapable, regardless of age, doesn’t reflect how understanding actually develops.
What are signs of adultism in schools?
Common signs include school policies decided entirely by staff without consulting pupils, school councils that exist but have little real influence, and pupils being interrupted or dismissed when raising concerns. Genuine student voice, where feedback actually shapes decisions, is the main marker of a school avoiding this pattern.
Can adultism affect adults too?
The concept is mainly applied to children and adolescents, but some researchers note that younger adults, such as the youngest sibling in a family, can experience similar dynamics if they’re consistently dismissed because of their relative age. It’s less commonly used outside a childhood or youth context.
