Teen is Not Equal to Child

Does it bother anyone else when sixteen year-old characters refer to themselves as children or kids? It always takes me out of the story when characters do that. I suddenly remember the story was written by an adult, not a teen. I don’t know about you, but by the time I was fourteen, I considered myself all grown up and was quite insulted if anyone referred to me as a child. I have to wonder if teen readers find this as insulting as I do?

My one possible concession is that I have never been trapped in a dystopian world with a group of other teenagers in a vicious, life-threatening situation. Maybe if I was, I would say, “How can they do this to us??? We’re just children???”

But I don’t know. I’m still not buying it.