Kids vs Children
All of us know that children and kids are synonyms and used interchangeably by people when referring to human beings who are not yet adults. We seem to talk in terms of children when we are referring to lots of them playing in a playground but use the word kids when we are talking about our own or our friends’. Is there a difference between kids and children? Let us find out in this article.
Kids
Do you ask if your friend has kids at home or do you ask if he has children? It seems we have become used to the word kids when we are more affectionate or when we are talking about children whom we know. In general though, we continue to talk in terms of children. Till the end of the 16th century, kid was a word that was used to refer to the offspring of goat. It was only extended to offspring of humans as slang in 1590. Slowly and gradually, the word came to be accepted as an alternative to human offspring. At times, being called a kid can seem derogatory when the person being so addressed is an adult. Treating someone with kid glove is another example of being soft on someone despite the need to be harsh.
Children
‘Children’ is the plural of child, and we know what a child means. It means the offspring of human being. ‘Children’ is a formal way of referring to a group of kids playing or sitting in a classroom or a playground. A baby human being is called a child and so many of such human beings together ought to be referred as children.
Kids vs Children
• While kid was used to refer to the offspring of goat till the 16th century, it has now become acceptable for the offspring of human.
• Children is a word that is a plural of child and a formal way to refer to human beings that are not adults.
• Kid can be derogatory at times, but children is always formal and polite.
• Kid is used more with children that we know personally like our own or the children of our friend.
There is actually a bit of a difference between kid and child in common use. A “child” will generally refer to anyone who either hasn’t hit puberty, anyone who is legally a minor, or offspring in general. Often, the word “kid” is expanded just to mean any young people in general. People often refer to young adults as “kids”, but not “children”. The dictionary also accounts for this.
Thank you, really helpful!
Thank you anonymous too. Helpful and enriching!
Most common in most states to have girls be called children and boys are called kids, since there maturity levels vary. I call girls children since it’s former and boys kids since it’s common. Hope it helps. – Shelby