Title: Discrimination Against Youth – Freechild Institute
Headings: Discrimination Against Youth
Discrimination Against Youth
Identifying Discrimination
Discrimination against Youth in Language
Discrimination against Youth in Youth Work
Discrimination against Youth in School
Discrimination against Youth in Communities
How YOU Can Resist Discrimination Against Youth
Tips for Addressing Discrimination Against Youth
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Published by Adam F.C. Fletcher

Content: Youth development programs can force youth to disconnect from adults. Almost every activity that is for young people is decided upon, developed, assessed and redeveloped without young people. That is adultcentrism. Language, programs, teaching styles, and all relationships between young people and adults are adultcentric. The most “youth-friendly” adults are often adultist, assuming that youth need them – which, while it may be true, is still centered on adult perspectives. Adultism is not always harmful – but adultism is always real. Adultism leads to a phenomenon of “little adults” – young people who are “adults-in-the-making”, rather than children and youth today. Adultcentrism leads to manipulating and tokenizing young people through Youth Voice activities. Despite the intention, that process often further disengages young people! Adultism exists for a lot of reasons, including beliefs about the abilities of young people, roles of different people throughout society, and the nature of society.